Method and system for defining consumer interactions for initiating execution of commands

ABSTRACT

Embodiments provide a computer-executed method, a computer system and computer program product for initiating a command. The method includes causing a consumer input definition interface to be displayed on a visual display of a computing device associated with a consumer, wherein the consumer input definition interface includes an indication of a command. The method also includes, while the consumer input definition interface is displayed, receiving input definition data defining a consumer interaction by the consumer. The method also includes generating a compound consumer input based on the input definition data, and associating the compound consumer input with the command and the consumer. The method further includes storing the association between the compound consumer input and the command on a non-transitory storage device so that receipt of the compound consumer input from the consumer automatically initiates the command.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/569,845, filed Jan. 6, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/012,293, filed on Sep. 4, 2020, now U.S. Pat.No. 11,249,641, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/626,381, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,809,911, titled “Method and Systemfor Defining Consumer Interactions for Initiating Execution ofCommands,” filed on Feb. 19, 2015, which application claims priority toand the benefit of the following co-owned patent applications: (i) U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/017,783, titled “Method and Systemfor Facilitating Consumer Interactions with Promotions” and filed Jun.26, 2014, (ii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/017,781,titled “Method and System for a Predefined Suite of ConsumerInteractions for Initiating Execution of Commands” and filed Jun. 26,2014, (iii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/017,787, titled“Method and System for Defining Consumer Interactions for InitiatingExecution of Commands” and filed Jun. 26, 2014, (iv) U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/017,795, titled “Method and System forAdjusting Item Relevance Based on Consumer Interactions” and filed Jun.26, 2014, (v) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/017,793, titled“Method and System for Use of Biometric Information Associated withConsumer Interactions” and filed Jun. 26, 2014, (vi) U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/017,776, titled “Method and System forFacilitating Consumer Interactions for Performing Purchase Commands” andfiled Jun. 26, 2014, and (vii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/943,242, filed Feb. 21, 2014, titled “Mobile Device ConsumerInteractions.” The entire contents of each of the above-referencedpatent applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Example embodiments of the present invention relate generally tofacilitating promotion management via an intuitive interface and, moreparticularly, to facilitating consumer interactions with promotions andimpressions of promotions via an improved mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Providers offer products, services, and/or experiences (referred toherein as “items”) to consumers. Promotional systems provide promotionsfor such items to consumers. Consumers can use consumer devices (e.g., amobile device such as a smartphone, tablet, etc.) to interact with thepromotional system for a variety of purposes including accessinginformation about promotions and purchasing promotions. The nature ofsuch interactions affects the shopping experience and even thelikelihood or rate of promotion purchase. Applicant has identified anumber of deficiencies and problems associated with conventionalinterfaces and computing devices. Through applied effort, ingenuity, andinnovation, solutions to improve such techniques and devices have beenrealized and are described herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, a computer-executed methodis provided for defining a compound consumer input for initiating acommand. The method includes causing a consumer input definitioninterface to be displayed on a visual display of a computing deviceassociated with a consumer, wherein the consumer input definitioninterface includes an indication of a command. The method also includes,while the consumer input definition interface is displayed, receivinginput definition data defining a consumer interaction by the consumer.The method also includes generating a compound consumer input based onthe input definition data, and associating the compound consumer inputwith the command and the consumer. The method further includes storingthe association between the compound consumer input and the command on anon-transitory storage device so that receipt of the compound consumerinput from the consumer automatically initiates the command.

Some embodiments of the method may include receiving, from the computingdevice, an indication of the consumer input entered by the consumer inassociation with a representation of an item; based on a determinationthat the consumer input corresponds to the command, retrievinginformation previously stored for the item; and using the iteminformation to transmit computer-executable instructions to initiate thecommand in relation to the item.

In some embodiments, the method may include causing a second consumerinput definition interface to be displayed on a second visual display ofa second computing device associated with a second consumer, wherein thesecond consumer input definition interface includes a second indicationof a second command; while the second consumer input definitioninterface is displayed, receiving second input definition data defininga second consumer interaction by the second consumer; generating asecond consumer input based on the second input definition data;associating the second consumer input with the second command and thesecond consumer; and storing the association between the second consumerinput and the second command on a non-transitory storage device so thatreceipt of the second consumer input from the consumer automaticallyinitiates the second command.

In some embodiments, the consumer input may include one or more of: acheckmark selection, a touchscreen press action, a mouse click action, atouchscreen tap action, a touchscreen press and hold action, atouchscreen drag and drop action, a touchscreen pinch action, atouchscreen unpinch action, a touchscreen swipe action, a touchscreenpress action, a device shake action, a device twist action, a movementof the computing device, a change in orientation of the computingdevice, a touchscreen writing action, a touchscreen drawing or writingmotion, a touchscreen selection of one or more alphanumeric characters,a keyboard action, a mouse action, a static or moving gesture capturedby a camera, or a speaking of a sound. The command may initiate purchaseof an item without associating the item with an electronic shoppingcart.

Embodiments of the method may further include displaying, on the visualdisplay, a representation of an electronic shopping cart or arepresentation of a purchase drop region; wherein the command isinitiated upon the consumer input overlapping with the representation ofthe shopping cart representation or the representation of the promotionpurchase drop region.

The consumer input may be a continuous touch interaction using atouchscreen, defined by: a first point at a first time; a second pointat a second time subsequent to the first time; and a third point at athird time subsequent to the second time. In some embodiments, thefirst, second and third points may not be collinear.

In some embodiments, the consumer input may be a continuous touchinteraction using a touchscreen, defined by a point held for at least apredefined amount of time. The continuous touch interaction may befurther defined by at least a second point at a second time subsequentto the predefined amount of time. Embodiments of the consumer input mayinclude a continuous touch interaction using a touchscreen, defined by:a first point at a first time; and a second point at a second timesubsequent to the first time. The first point and the second point maydefine a predetermined first direction from the first point to thesecond point.

In some embodiments, a first portion of the consumer input is associatedwith a purchase command, and wherein a second portion of the consumerinput is associated with a second command. Embodiments of the method mayinclude adjusting a display on the visual display in response toreceiving an indication of the second command.

The second command may include a request command, and the method mayfurther include, in response to receiving an indication of the secondcommand, causing a second representation for a second item to berendered on the visual display. In some embodiments, the second commandmay include a cancel purchase command, and the method may furtherinclude, in response to receiving an indication of the second command,transmitting computer-executable instructions to cause cancellation ofthe purchase of an item. The second command may additionally oralternatively include a quantity command defining a number of instancesof an item selected for purchase, and the method may further include, inresponse to receiving an indication of the second command, transmittingcomputer-executable instructions to cause facilitating a purchase forone or more instances of the item based on the quantity command. In someembodiments, the second command may include a relevance indicatorcommand, and the method may further includes, in response to receivingan indication of the second command, transmitting computer-executableinstructions for: determining one or more parameters of a first item,associating or dissociating the one or more parameters with a consumeraccount as being relevant to the consumer account, determining a seconditem different from the first item based on the one or more parameters,and displaying a representation of the second item on the visualdisplay.

In some embodiments, the method may include determining a location ofthe computing device; determining a language associated with thelocation; and associating the consumer input with the command based atleast in part on the language.

Some embodiments of the method may include causing the consumer inputdefinition interface to include a second indication of a second command;receiving second input definition data defining a second consumerinteraction entered by the consumer at the consumer input definitioninterface; generating a second consumer input based on the second inputdefinition data; associating the second consumer input with the secondcommand; and storing the association between the second consumer inputwith the second command on a non-transitory storage device so thatreceipt of the second consumer input from the consumer automaticallyinitiates the second command. The second command may undo the command.

The command includes one or more of commands for purchasing an item,sharing the item with a second consumer, undoing a purchase of the item,researching the item, viewing details of the item, comparing the item toone or more additional items, placing a hold on the item, saving theitem, seeking help on the item or purchase of the item, rating the item,or indicating a relevance of the item to the consumer. In someembodiments, the command may initiate a change in an operation of thecomputing device. The command may initiate a purchase of a promotionoffered by a promotion and marketing service.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, a computer system isprovided for defining a compound consumer input for initiating acommand. The computer system includes a processor programmed orconfigured to cause a consumer input definition interface to bedisplayed on a visual display of a computing device associated with aconsumer, wherein the consumer input definition interface includes anindication of a command. The processor is also programmed or configuredto, while the consumer input definition interface is displayed, receiveinput definition data defining a consumer interaction by the consumer.The processor is also programmed or configured to generate a compoundconsumer input based on the input definition data, and associate thecompound consumer input with the command and the consumer. The computersystem also includes a non-transitory storage medium for storing theassociation between the compound consumer input and the command so thatreceipt of the compound consumer input from the consumer automaticallyinitiates the command.

Embodiments of the computer system may be configured to receive, fromthe computing device, an indication of the consumer input entered by theconsumer in association with a representation of an item; based on adetermination that the consumer input corresponds to the command,retrieve information previously stored for the item; and use the iteminformation to transmit computer-executable instructions to initiate thecommand in relation to the item.

In some embodiments, the computer system may be configured to cause asecond consumer input definition interface to be displayed on a secondvisual display of a second computing device associated with a secondconsumer, wherein the second consumer input definition interfaceincludes a second indication of a second command; while the secondconsumer input definition interface is displayed, receive second inputdefinition data defining a second consumer interaction by the secondconsumer; generate a second consumer input based on the second inputdefinition data; associate the second consumer input with the secondcommand and the second consumer; and store the association between thesecond consumer input and the second command on a non-transitory storagedevice so that receipt of the second consumer input from the consumerautomatically initiates the second command.

The consumer input may include one or more of: a checkmark selection, atouchscreen press action, a mouse click action, a touchscreen tapaction, a touchscreen press and hold action, a touchscreen drag and dropaction, a touchscreen pinch action, a touchscreen unpinch action, atouchscreen swipe action, a touchscreen press action, a device shakeaction, a device twist action, a movement of the computing device, achange in orientation of the computing device, a touchscreen writingaction, a touchscreen drawing or writing motion, a touchscreen selectionof one or more alphanumeric characters, a keyboard action, a mouseaction, a static or moving gesture captured by a camera, or a speakingof a sound. In some embodiments, the command may be configured toinitiate purchase of an item without associating the item with anelectronic shopping cart.

Embodiments of the computer system may be configured to display, on thevisual display, a representation of an electronic shopping cart or arepresentation of a purchase drop region. The command may be configuredto be initiated upon the consumer input overlapping with therepresentation of the shopping cart representation or the representationof the promotion purchase drop region.

The consumer input may be a continuous touch interaction using atouchscreen, defined by: a first point at a first time; a second pointat a second time subsequent to the first time; and a third point at athird time subsequent to the second time. In such embodiments, thefirst, second and third points may not be collinear.

In some embodiments, consumer input may be a continuous touchinteraction using a touchscreen, defined by a point held for at least apredefined amount of time. The continuous touch interaction may befurther defined by at least a second point at a second time subsequentto the predefined amount of time. In some embodiments, the consumerinput may be a continuous touch interaction using a touchscreen, definedby: a first point at a first time; and a second point at a second timesubsequent to the first time. The first point and the second point maydefine a predetermined first direction from the first point to thesecond point. In some embodiments, a first portion of the consumer inputmay be associated with a purchase command, and a second portion of theconsumer input may be associated with a second command.

In some embodiment, the computer system may be configured to adjust adisplay on the visual display in response to receiving an indication ofthe second command. The second command may include a request command,and the computer system may be further configured to, in response toreceiving an indication of the second command, cause a secondrepresentation for a second item to be rendered on the visual display.The second command may include a cancel purchase command, and thecomputer system may be further configured to, in response to receivingan indication of the second command, transmit computer-executableinstructions to cause cancellation of the purchase of an item. Thesecond command may include a quantity command defining a number ofinstances of an item selected for purchase, and the computer system maybe further configured to, in response to receiving an indication of thesecond command, transmit computer-executable instructions to causefacilitating a purchase for one or more instances of the item based onthe quantity command. The second command may include a relevanceindicator command, and wherein the computer system is further configuredto, in response to receiving an indication of the second command,transmit computer-executable instructions for: determining one or moreparameters of a first item, associating or dissociating the one or moreparameters with a consumer account as being relevant to the consumeraccount, determining a second item different from the first item basedon the one or more parameters, and displaying a representation of thesecond item on the visual display.

In some embodiments, the computer system may be configured to determinea location of the computing device; determine a language associated withthe location, and associate the consumer input with the command based atleast in part on the language.

The computer system may be further configured to cause the consumerinput definition interface to include a second indication of a secondcommand; receive second input definition data defining a second consumerinteraction entered by the consumer at the consumer input definitioninterface; generate a second consumer input based on the second inputdefinition data; associate the second consumer input with the secondcommand; and store the association between the second consumer inputwith the second command on a non-transitory storage device so thatreceipt of the second consumer input from the consumer automaticallyinitiates the second command. The second command may be configured toundo the command.

In some embodiments, the command includes one or more of commands forpurchasing an item, sharing the item with a second consumer, undoing apurchase of the item, researching the item, viewing details of the item,comparing the item to one or more additional items, placing a hold onthe item, saving the item, seeking help on the item or purchase of theitem, rating the item, or indicating a relevance of the item to theconsumer. In some embodiments, the command may be configured to initiatea change in an operation of the computing device. The command may beconfigured to initiate a purchase of a promotion offered by a promotionand marketing service.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, a computer programedproduct may be provided having encoded thereon one or morecomputer-executable instructions that, when executed on a computer, areconfigured to facilitate a transaction. The computer program product mayinclude causing a consumer input definition interface to be displayed ona visual display of a computing device associated with a consumer,wherein the consumer input definition interface includes an indicationof a command. The product may also include, while the consumer inputdefinition interface is displayed, receiving input definition datadefining a consumer interaction by the consumer. The computer programproduct may further include generating a compound consumer input basedon the input definition data, and associating the compound consumerinput with the command and the consumer. The computer program productmay also include storing the association between the compound consumerinput and the command on a non-transitory storage device so that receiptof the compound consumer input from the consumer automatically initiatesthe command.

Embodiments of the computer program product may be configured toreceive, from the computing device, an indication of the consumer inputentered by the consumer in association with a representation of an item;based on a determination that the consumer input corresponds to thecommand, retrieve information previously stored for the item; and usethe item information to transmit computer-executable instructions toinitiate the command in relation to the item.

In some embodiments, the computer program product may be configured tocause a second consumer input definition interface to be displayed on asecond visual display of a second computing device associated with asecond consumer, wherein the second consumer input definition interfaceincludes a second indication of a second command; while the secondconsumer input definition interface is displayed, receive second inputdefinition data defining a second consumer interaction by the secondconsumer; generate a second consumer input based on the second inputdefinition data; associate the second consumer input with the secondcommand and the second consumer; and store the association between thesecond consumer input and the second command on a non-transitory storagedevice so that receipt of the second consumer input from the consumerautomatically initiates the second command.

The consumer input may include one or more of: a checkmark selection, atouchscreen press action, a mouse click action, a touchscreen tapaction, a touchscreen press and hold action, a touchscreen drag and dropaction, a touchscreen pinch action, a touchscreen unpinch action, atouchscreen swipe action, a touchscreen press action, a device shakeaction, a device twist action, a movement of the computing device, achange in orientation of the computing device, a touchscreen writingaction, a touchscreen drawing or writing motion, a touchscreen selectionof one or more alphanumeric characters, a keyboard action, a mouseaction, a static or moving gesture captured by a camera, or a speakingof a sound. In some embodiments, the command may be configured toinitiate purchase of an item without associating the item with anelectronic shopping cart.

Embodiments of the computer program product may be configured todisplay, on the visual display, a representation of an electronicshopping cart or a representation of a purchase drop region. The commandmay be configured to be initiated upon the consumer input overlappingwith the representation of the shopping cart representation or therepresentation of the promotion purchase drop region.

The consumer input may be a continuous touch interaction using atouchscreen, defined by: a first point at a first time; a second pointat a second time subsequent to the first time; and a third point at athird time subsequent to the second time. In such embodiments, thefirst, second and third points may not be collinear.

In some embodiments, consumer input may be a continuous touchinteraction using a touchscreen, defined by a point held for at least apredefined amount of time. The continuous touch interaction may befurther defined by at least a second point at a second time subsequentto the predefined amount of time. In some embodiments, the consumerinput may be a continuous touch interaction using a touchscreen, definedby: a first point at a first time; and a second point at a second timesubsequent to the first time. The first point and the second point maydefine a predetermined first direction from the first point to thesecond point. In some embodiments, a first portion of the consumer inputmay be associated with a purchase command, and a second portion of theconsumer input may be associated with a second command.

In some embodiment, the computer program product may be configured toadjust a display on the visual display in response to receiving anindication of the second command. The second command may include arequest command, and the computer program product may be furtherconfigured to, in response to receiving an indication of the secondcommand, cause a second representation for a second item to be renderedon the visual display. The second command may include a cancel purchasecommand, and the computer program product may be further configured to,in response to receiving an indication of the second command, transmitcomputer-executable instructions to cause cancellation of the purchaseof an item. The second command may include a quantity command defining anumber of instances of an item selected for purchase, and the computerprogram product may be further configured to, in response to receivingan indication of the second command, transmit computer-executableinstructions to cause facilitating a purchase for one or more instancesof the item based on the quantity command. The second command mayinclude a relevance indicator command, and wherein the computer programproduct is further configured to, in response to receiving an indicationof the second command, transmit computer-executable instructions for:determining one or more parameters of a first item, associating ordissociating the one or more parameters with a consumer account as beingrelevant to the consumer account, determining a second item differentfrom the first item based on the one or more parameters, and displayinga representation of the second item on the visual display.

In some embodiments, the computer program product may be configured todetermine a location of the computing device; determine a languageassociated with the location, and associate the consumer input with thecommand based at least in part on the language.

The computer program product may be further configured to cause theconsumer input definition interface to include a second indication of asecond command; receive second input definition data defining a secondconsumer interaction entered by the consumer at the consumer inputdefinition interface; generate a second consumer input based on thesecond input definition data; associate the second consumer input withthe second command; and store the association between the secondconsumer input with the second command on a non-transitory storagedevice so that receipt of the second consumer input from the consumerautomatically initiates the second command. The second command may beconfigured to undo the command.

In some embodiments, the command includes one or more of commands forpurchasing an item, sharing the item with a second consumer, undoing apurchase of the item, researching the item, viewing details of the item,comparing the item to one or more additional items, placing a hold onthe item, saving the item, seeking help on the item or purchase of theitem, rating the item, or indicating a relevance of the item to theconsumer. In some embodiments, the command may be configured to initiatea change in an operation of the computing device. The command may beconfigured to initiate a purchase of a promotion offered by a promotionand marketing service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features and advantages ofexemplary embodiments will become more apparent and may be betterunderstood by referring to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of an example of circuitryconfigured in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3A shows an example method of enabling a consumer to define aconsumer input for a particular command.

FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary consumer input definition interface foruse in the method of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 shows an example method of providing predefined consumer inputfor initiating commands.

FIG. 5 shows an example method of facilitating a transaction for apromotion in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 shows an example method of facilitating a transaction for apromotion in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7A shows an example method of facilitating a purchase transactionfor an item in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7B shows an exemplary consumer interface displaying arepresentation of an item for purchase.

FIG. 7C shows an exemplary consumer interface displaying an orderconfirmation after purchase of an item.

FIGS. 8-11 show examples of consumer interfaces in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show an exemplary consumer interface in which atouchscreen press action is used to purchase an item.

FIGS. 13A-13D show an exemplary consumer interface in which atouchscreen slide action is used to purchase an item.

FIGS. 14A-14D shown an exemplary consumer interface in which atouchscreen screen pull-down action is used to purchase an item.

FIG. 15 shows an example method of using a relevance indication receivedfrom a consumer.

FIG. 16 shows an example method of using biometric information receivedfrom a consumer.

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to providingan improved consumer interface, and associated system, that isconfigured to facilitate item transactions in an efficient, novel, andconsumer friendly manner. Traditional interfaces suffer from beingoverly complicated and requiring excess hardware and/or screen space tofacilitate the device functions. For example, a traditional interfacemay require a user to key in (e.g., via a physical or on-screenkeyboard) purchase information or require a user to visit many layers ofmenus to complete each interaction. In such traditional interfaces, theinterface and device may not perform optimally because of limitations onscreen size, hardware interoperability, and processing power. Exemplaryconsumer interfaces according to embodiments of the present inventionenable consumers to provide compound consumer inputs (e.g., swipes,slides, gestures, etc.) that initiate execution of a command associatedwith an item transaction or information request. To this end, exemplaryembodiments store, on non-transitory computer-readable media or storage,associations between one or more commands and corresponding compoundconsumer inputs that, when entered by a consumer at a consumerinterface, initiate the commands. These associations may improve theefficiency and functionality of the interface by allowing commands to beintuitively input without requiring additional hardware or softwareinput devices (e.g., a third-party keyboard) or overly complex layers ofon-screen menus.

In some embodiments, an association between a command and a consumerinput may be consumer-defined, i.e., a consumer may be enabled tospecify a consumer input that will initiate a command. In otherembodiments, an association between a command and a consumer input mayalso be predefined, i.e., an application program providing exemplaryfunctionality may have a predefined consumer input associated with acommand. Exemplary embodiments detect a consumer interaction with theconsumer interface, automatically determine if the consumer interactioncorresponds exactly or approximately to a predefined consumer input and,if so, initiate the command associated with the consumer input.

The predefined or consumer-defined association between a particularconsumer input and a particular command enable a consumer to initiatethe command in fast and efficient manner without having to invokeconventional methods that may require a more extensive series of inputs(e.g., clicks) or, in some cases, the use of a more complex and lessintuitive consumer interface. Additionally, the consumer specificationof the consumer input, in certain embodiments, ensures that accidentallyor inadvertently entered inputs are not interpreted as commandinitiating consumer inputs.

In certain embodiments, compound consumer inputs may be provided toinitiate commands involving promotions provided by a promotion andmarketing service. However, the use of exemplary compound consumerinputs to initiate commands is not limited to transactions involvingpromotions provided by a promotion and marketing service. In otherembodiments, compound consumer inputs may be provided to initiatecommands involving transactions regarding any items that may or may notbe promotions.

In certain embodiments, for a purchase transaction, an electronicshopping cart is not associated with the item to be purchased and thepurchase command does not require the consumer to use an electronicshopping cart. For example, a consumer may simply use a compoundconsumer input, e.g., a swipe or a slide, to buy an item without cyclingthrough an electronic shopping cart.

In some embodiments, a purchase confirmation step is not required fromthe consumer prior to initiating the purchase command. In certainconventional consumer interfaces, a purchase confirmation step isrequired from a consumer in which the consumer reviews and confirms thepurchase information embedded in the purchase command (e.g., shoppingcart check-out process, etc.). In these embodiments, skipping theelectronic shopping cart in the consumer interface interaction enablesthe transaction to proceed with the fewest number of steps (or interfacescreens) required by the consumer, thereby ensuring a fast and efficientpurchase process. In certain embodiments, payment information associatedwith the consumer (e.g., credit card information) may be stored, and theconsumer may not be required to enter this information during initiationof the purchase command, thereby increasing the speed and efficiencywith which the system carries out the transaction.

Certain exemplary embodiments enable a consumer to associate differentconsumer inputs (consumer-defined and/or predefined) with differentcommands. Certain exemplary embodiments enable an application program topredefine a particular set of interactions that, when entered by aconsumer using a consumer interface, initiate one or more commands. Forexample, the application program may predefine a first consumer input orinteraction for initiating a first command (e.g., drawing the letter “f”over a representation of an item to share the item on Facebook), and asecond different consumer input or interaction for initiating a secondcommand (e.g., drawing the letter “t” over a representation of an itemto share the item on Twitter).

A command may alter any aspect of the operation or function of thecomputing device (e.g., activate or shut down an application program orthe computing device itself), or may initiate an action taken tofacilitate a transaction (e.g., a commercial transaction such aspurchasing a promotion offered by a promotion and marketing service).

Techniques for electronic or online retail are conventionally optimizedfor desktop computers. A common purchase flow places the user within adesktop optimized purchase funnel that requires a user to add an item toa shopping cart, proceed to a second interface for checkout and paymentinformation submission, then to a purchase confirmation interface foruser confirmation, and finally a receipt or purchase summary interfaceto notify the user that the purchase has been completed. Such purchaseflows, as well as associated interfaces and the inputs capable ofinteracting with the interfaces, are optimized for desktop computers(e.g., using a mouse and keyboard) and are often burdensome,unintuitive, complicated, and time-consuming when used on a mobiledevice. Accordingly, techniques discussed herein may provide forstreamlined, intuitive, and easy to use consumer interfaces and consumerinput gestures that are optimized for mobile devices (e.g., smartphones,tablet computers, etc.).

Some embodiments may include a consumer device configured to performsome or all of the functionality discussed herein. Some embodiments mayinclude one or more methods while other embodiments may include one ormore machines, such as an apparatus and/or system, configured toimplement the methods and/or other functionality discussed herein. Forexample, the machine may include one or more processors and/or othermachine components configured to implement the functionality discussedherein based on instructions and/or other data stored in memory and/orother non-transitory computer readable media.

These characteristics as well as additional features, functions, anddetails are described below. Similarly, corresponding and additionalembodiments are also described below.

Definitions of Terms

Certain terms used in connection with exemplary embodiments are definedbelow.

As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similarterms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of beingtransmitted, received, and/or stored in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention. Thus, use of any such terms should not be takento limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention.Further, where a computing device is described herein to receive datafrom another computing device, it will be appreciated that the data maybe received directly from the another computing device or may bereceived indirectly via one or more intermediary computing devices, suchas, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers, network accesspoints, base stations, hosts, and/or the like, sometimes referred toherein as a “network.” Similarly, where a computing device is describedherein to send data to another computing device, it will be appreciatedthat the data may be sent directly to the another computing device ormay be sent indirectly via one or more intermediary computing devices,such as, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers, networkaccess points, base stations, hosts, and/or the like.

As used herein, the term “promotion and marketing service” may include aservice that is accessible via one or more computing devices and isoperable to provide example promotion and/or marketing services onbehalf of one or more providers that are offering one or moreinstruments that are redeemable for goods, services, experiences and/orthe like. In some examples, the promotion and marketing service may takethe form of a redemption authority, a payment processor, a rewardsprovider, an entity in a financial network, a promoter, an agent and/orthe like. As such, the service is, in some example embodiments,configured to present one or more promotions via one or moreimpressions, accept payments for promotions from consumers, issueinstruments upon acceptance of an offer, participate in redemption,generate rewards, provide a point of sale device or service, issuepayments to providers and/or or otherwise participate in the exchange ofgoods, services or experiences for currency, value and/or the like.

As used herein, the term “provider” may include, but is not limited to,a merchant, a business owner, consigner, shopkeeper, tradesperson,vender, operator, entrepreneur, agent, dealer, organization or the likethat is in the business of a providing a good, service or experience toa consumer, facilitating the provision of a good, service or experienceto a consumer and/or otherwise operating in the stream of commerce. Oneexample provider may be a running company that sells attire and otheritems for use by a person who runs or participates in athleticactivities.

As used herein, the term “consumer” may include, but is not limited to,a client, customer, purchaser, shopper, user, or the like, who may be inthe position to or does exchange value for one or more vouchers underthe terms defined by one or promotions. For example, and using theaforementioned running company as the example provider, a consumer maybe an individual who is interested in purchasing running shoes.

As used herein, the term “consumer interface” may include any digitallyrendered user interface displayed on a visual display device forenabling a consumer to interface with a promotion and marketing serviceand/or a provider. An exemplary consumer interface may enable a consumerto view one or more promotions, purchase one or more promotions, shareone or more promotions with other consumers, receive messages and/orpromotions from other consumers, receive messages from the promotion andmarketing service, receive messages from one or more providers, and thelike. Exemplary consumer interfaces may be rendered in any desired formincluding, but not limited to, as a mobile application for display on amobile computing device (e.g., a smartphone, table computer, etc.), awebpage or website for display on a mobile or non-mobile computingdevice via the Internet, and the like.

As used herein, the term “promotion” may include, but is not limited to,any type of offered, presented or otherwise indicated reward, discount,coupon, credit, deal, incentive, discount, media or the like that isindicative of a promotional value or the like that upon purchase oracceptance results in the issuance of an instrument that may be usedtoward at least a portion of the purchase of particular goods, servicesand/or experiences defined by the promotion. An example promotion, usingthe aforementioned running company as the example provider, is $25 for$50 toward running shoes. In some examples, the promotion defines anaccepted value (e.g., a cost to purchase the promotion), a promotionalvalue (e.g., the value of the resultant instrument beyond the acceptedvalue), a residual value (e.g., the value upon return or upon expiry ofone or more redemption parameters), one or more redemptions parametersand/or the like. Using the running company promotion as an example, theaccepted value is $25 and the promotional value is $50. In this example,the residual value may be equal to the accepted value.

As used herein, the term “impression” may include a communication, adisplay, or other perceived indication, such as a flyer, print media,e-mail, text message, application alert, mobile application, mobilenotification, other type of electronic interface or distribution channeland/or the like, of one or more promotions. For example, and using theaforementioned running company as the example provider, an e-mailcommunication sent to consumers that indicates the availability of apromotion of $25 for $50 toward running shoes.

As used herein, the term “promotion score” refers to a programmaticallygenerated quantitative or qualitative score or indication of theexpected effectiveness of providing an impression of a promotion to aconsumer. In some embodiments, the expected effectiveness may beindicated by a predicted probability or likelihood that the consumerwill purchase the promotion offered by the impression.

As used herein, the term “voucher” may include, but is not limited to,any type of gift card, tender, electronic certificate, medium ofexchange, or the like, that embodies the terms of the promotion fromwhich it results and which may be used toward at least a portion of thepurchase, acquisition, procurement, consumption, or the like, of goods,services and/or experiences. In some examples, a voucher may take theform of tender that has a given value that is exchangeable for goods,services and/or experiences and/or a reduction in a purchase price of aparticular good, service or experience. In some examples, the vouchermay have multiple values, such as an accepted value, a promotional valueand/or a residual value. For example, using the aforementioned runningcompany as the example provider, a voucher may comprise an electronicindication in a mobile application that shows $50 of value to spend atthe running company. In some examples, the accepted value of the voucheris defined by the value exchanged for the voucher. In some examples, thepromotional value of the voucher is defined by the promotion from whichthe voucher resulted and is the value of the voucher beyond the acceptedvalue. In some examples, the residual value of the voucher is the valueafter redemption, the value after the expiry or other violation of aredemption parameter, the return or exchange value of the voucher, orthe like.

As used herein, the term “redemption” may include the use, exchange orother presentation of a voucher for at least a portion of a good,service or experience as defined by the voucher and its related offer.In some examples, redemption includes the verification of validity ofthe voucher. In other example embodiments, redemption may include anindication that a particular voucher has been redeemed and thus nolonger retains an actual, promotional and/or residual value (e.g., fullredemption). In other example embodiments, redemption may include theredemption of at least a portion of a voucher's actual, promotionaland/or residual value (e.g., partial redemption). An example ofredemption, using the aforementioned running company as the exampleprovider, is exchanging a $50 voucher and $50 for a $100 pair of runningshoes.

As used herein, the terms “mobile computing device” and “mobile device”refer to any computing or communication device that is portable and istransported in normal usage (e.g., the iPhone™ mobile communicationdevice, the Android™ mobile communication device, and the like), andthat is capable of communication and that has sufficient processor powerand memory capacity to perform the operations described herein. Forexample, and without limitation, a mobile computing device may include asmartphone, a table computer, a laptop computer, and the like.

As used herein, the terms “application program,” “mobile application”and “mobile app” refer to computer-executable application softwareprogrammed or configured to run on a processing unit of a mobilecomputing device.

As used herein, the term “promotion application program” refers to anapplication program programmed or configured to run on a processing unitof a mobile computing device in order to enable a user of the computingdevice to use a promotion and marketing service. An exemplary promotionapplication program may be in constant or periodic communication with aremote computing device or server run by the promotion and marketingservice to provide computer-executable functionality to the mobilecomputing device. An exemplary promotion application program may, forexample, provide a user interface configured to render impressions ofone or more promotions, receive user input selecting one or moreimpressions, and enable purchase of the promotions in response to userinput.

As used herein, the term “compound consumer input” encompasses all typesof consumer input excluding a single simple click or a singletouchscreen press action. Compound consumer input may include, withoutlimitation, one or more of: a multi-point touchscreen press action,multiple touchscreen press or tap actions in sequence, a touchscreenpress and hold action for a minimum threshold time duration (e.g., 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 seconds), a touchscreen hold and dragaction, a touchscreen drag and drop action, a touchscreen pinch action,a touchscreen unpinch action, a touchscreen swipe or slide action (e.g.,left-to-right, right-to-left, up-to-down, down-to-up, diagonal or anyother direction), a multi-point touchscreen swipe or slide action (e.g.,to create a checkmark, letter, or other finger drawn character), ascreen pull-down action, a device shake action, a device twist action, amovement of the computing device, a change in orientation of thecomputing device, a touchscreen writing action, a touchscreen drawing orwriting motion, a touchscreen selection or tracing of one or morealphanumeric characters, a static or moving gesture captured by acamera, or an audible (e.g., speaking, etc.) of a sound captured by avoice recorder.

An exemplary compound consumer input for initiating a purchase commandmay, in one embodiment, be a combination of a touchscreen hold actionfor selecting a representation of an item combined with a touchscreenentry of a checkmark. Another exemplary compound consumer input forinitiating a purchase command may be a combination of a touchscreen holdaction for selecting a representation of an item combined with atouchscreen entry of a checkmark. Another exemplary compound consumerinput for confirming a purchase command may be a long press actioncombined with a voice command (e.g., answering the question “do youreally want to buy this?”). Another exemplary compound consumer inputfor initiating a command to display more items may be a long press andhold action. Another exemplary compound consumer input for initiating anitem information request command may be a double tapping action. Anotherexemplary compound consumer input for initiating a purchase commandwithout requiring details on the item may be a swipe or slide action.Another exemplary compound consumer input for initiating a command toshare an item on Facebook may be a user-drawn letter “f” using atouchscreen. Another exemplary compound consumer input for initiating acommand to share an item on Twitter may be a user-drawn letter “t” usinga touchscreen. Another exemplary compound consumer input for initiatinga command to share an item using email may be a user-drawn letter “e”using a touchscreen.

As used herein, the term “command” encompasses a set ofcomputer-executable instructions for initiating a change in an operationor function of a computing device and/or for facilitating a transaction.Exemplary commands for facilitating a transaction may include, but arenot limited to, one or more commands to purchase an item, add an item toa shopping cart or a wish list, request additional information on anitem, hold an item for later purchase, save an item or information on anitem, add an item to a favorite list, share an item with anotherconsumer over social networking websites or mobile applications, emailan item to another consumer, rate an item, indicate a relevance of anitem to a consumer, undo a previous action related to an item, comparean item to one or more additional items, display a map of locationswhere an item is available, seek help or assistance on an item orpurchase of an item, research and/or compare items, and the like.

As used herein, the term “module,” encompasses hardware, software and/orfirmware configured to perform one or more particular functions.

As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers tonon-transitory storage hardware, non-transitory storage device ornon-transitory computer system memory that may be accessed by acontroller, a microcontroller, a computational system or a module of acomputational system to encode thereon computer-executable instructionsor software programs. A non-transitory “computer-readable medium” may beaccessed by a computational system or a module of a computational systemto retrieve and/or execute the computer-executable instructions orsoftware programs encoded on the medium. Exemplary non-transitorycomputer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, one or moretypes of hardware memory, non-transitory tangible media (for example,one or more magnetic storage disks, one or more optical disks, one ormore USB flash drives), computer system memory or random access memory(such as, DRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM), and the like.

As used herein, the term “set” refers to a collection of one or moreitems.

As used herein, the term “plurality” refers to two or more items.

As used herein, the terms “equal” and “substantially equal” referinterchangeably, in a broad lay sense, to exact equality or approximateequality within some tolerance.

As used herein, the terms “similar” and “substantially similar” referinterchangeably, in a broad lay sense, to exact sameness or approximatesimilarity within some tolerance.

As used herein, the terms “couple,” “coupled” and “coupling” refer to adirect or indirect connection among two or more components. For example,a first component may be coupled to a second component directly orthrough one or more intermediate components.

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichsome, but not all, embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed,these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfyapplicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

Exemplary System Architecture

FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 in accordance with some embodiments.

System 100 may include promotion and marketing system 102 (or “system102”), network 104, consumer device 106, provider device 108, personalarea network (PAN) 110, and third party system 112. System 102 may becommunicably connected with consumer device 106 and provider device 108via network 104. System 102 may include server 114 and database 116.

Server 114 may include circuitry, networked processors, or the likeconfigured to perform some or all of the server-based processesdescribed herein and may be any suitable network server and/or othertype of processing device. In some embodiments, system 102 may functionas a “cloud” with respect to the consumer device 106 and/or providerdevice 108. In that sense, server 114 may include several serversperforming interconnected and/or distributed functions. To avoidunnecessarily overcomplicating the disclosure, server 114 is shown anddescribed herein as a single server.

Database 116 may be any suitable network storage device configured tostore some or all of the information described herein. For example,database 116 may be configured to store consumer information, providerinformation, promotion information, and/or among other things. As such,database 116 may include, for example, one or more database systems,backend data servers, network databases, cloud storage devices, etc. Toavoid unnecessarily overcomplicating the disclosure, database 116 isshown and described herein as a single database.

In some embodiments, system 102 may be configured to provide a promotionand marketing service to consumer device 106. A promotion and marketingservice, as used herein, may include a service that is accessible viaone or more computing devices (e.g., consumer device 106) and may beoperable to provide example promotion and/or marketing services onbehalf of one or more providers that are offering one or moreinstruments that are redeemable for goods, services, experiences and/orthe like. The promotion and marketing service may be further configuredto illustrate or otherwise inform one or more consumers of theavailability of one or more instruments in the form of one or moreimpressions. In some examples, the promotion and marketing service mayalso take the form of a redemption authority, a payment processor, arewards provider, an entity in a financial network, a promoter, an agentand/or the like. As such, the service is, in some example embodiments,configured to present one or more promotions via one or moreimpressions, accept payments for promotions from consumers, issueinstruments upon acceptance of an offer, participate in redemption,generate rewards, provide a point of sale device or service, issuepayments to providers and/or or otherwise participate in the exchange ofgoods, services or experiences for currency, value and/or the like.

Network 104 may include one or more wired and/or wireless communicationnetworks including, for example, a wired or wireless local area network(LAN), personal area network (PAN), metropolitan area network (MAN),wide area network (WAN), or the like, as well as any hardware, softwareand/or firmware for implementing the one or more networks (such as,e.g., network routers, switches, hubs, etc.). For example, network 104may include a cellular telephone, mobile broadband, long term evolution(LTE), GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, WiFi,dial-up, and/or WiMax network. Furthermore, network 104 may include apublic network, such as the Internet, a private network, such as anintranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize a variety ofnetworking protocols now available or later developed including, but notlimited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

Consumer device 106 may be associated with a consumer and/or consumeraccount, such as a consumer with a consumer account provided by system102. Although a single consumer device 106 is shown, system 100 mayinclude any number of consumer devices that may be associated withvarious other consumers and/or consumer accounts. Consumer device 106may be a mobile device and/or a stationary device. For example, consumerdevice 106 may be a mobile device such as a cellular telephone(including smartphones and/or other types of mobile telephones), laptop,tablet, electronic reader, e-book device, media device, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, consumer device 106 may be configured to generateand/or provide a consumer interface to a display of the consumer device.The consumer interface may be configured to receive consumer input datafor viewing, searching, and/or otherwise interacting with an impressionincluding one or more promotions and/or one or more items. The consumerinput data may be generated via one or more input devices including,without limitation, a touchscreen, a microphone, a camera, and/or amotion sensor device (e.g., an accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.). Asdiscussed in greater detail below, various types of predefined consumerinput data, referred to herein as “compound consumer inputs,” may beassociated with various commands that allow the consumer to interactwith the system 102 and/or the promotional and marketing service.

Provider device 108 may be associated with a provider, and may belocated at a provider shop (e.g., a merchant or retail shop, restaurant,or the like) and/or other location. Although a single provider device108 is shown, system 100 may include any number of provider devices thatmay be associated with various other providers. In some embodiments,provider device 108 may be configured to provide point-of-sale (POS)functionality for the provider, such as at the provider's shop.Furthermore, provider device 108 may be a stationary and/or mobiledevice.

In some embodiments, system 102 may be configured to receive promotiondata from provider device 108 indicating a promotion for goods,experiences and/or services (or “items” as used herein) and/or one ormore promotion parameters of the promotion (e.g., target audience,timing, accepted value, promotional value, residual value, etc.). System102 may then generate and/or provide one or more impressions for thepromotion to consumer device 106, which may be redeemed with theprovider via provider device 108, such as in connection with atransaction.

In some embodiments, system 100 may further include one or more thirdparty systems 112, among other things. For example, third party system112 may include a payment server configured to provide for the exchangeof money, credits, etc., between the provider and consumer. In someembodiments, third party system 112 may alternatively or additionallyinclude an online social network including users that may be associatedwith each other (e.g., as friends, contacts, acquaintances, etc.).

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of example circuitry 200, some orall of which may be included in system 102, server 114, database 116,consumer device 106, and/or provider device 108. In accordance with someexample embodiments, circuitry 200 may include various means, such asone or more processors 202, memories 204, communications modules 206,and/or input/output modules 208.

In some embodiments, such as when circuitry 200 is included in server114 or consumer device 106, consumer interface module 210 may also orinstead be included. For example, where consumer interface module 210 isincluded with consumer device 106, the module may be configured tofacilitate the functionality discussed herein regarding generatingconsumer input data for a consumer interface. In another example, whereconsumer interface module 210 is included with server 112, the modulemay be configured to receive the consumer input data and to process theconsumer input data.

The means of circuitry 200 as described herein may be embodied as, forexample, circuitry, hardware elements (e.g., a suitably programmedprocessor, combinational logic circuit, integrated circuit, and/or thelike), a computer program product comprising computer-readable programinstructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g.,memory 204) that is executable by a suitably configured processingdevice (e.g., processor 202), or some combination thereof.

Processor 202 may, for example, be embodied as various means includingone or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signalprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digitalsignal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-coreprocessors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or morecomputers, various other processing elements including integratedcircuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit) or FPGA (field programmable gate array), or some combinationthereof. Accordingly, although illustrated in FIG. 2 as a singleprocessor, in some embodiments, processor 202 may comprise a pluralityof processing means. The plurality of processing means may be embodiedon a single computing device or may be distributed across a plurality ofcomputing devices collectively configured to function as circuitry 200.The plurality of processing means may be in operative communication witheach other and may be collectively configured to perform one or morefunctionalities of circuitry 200 as described herein. In an exampleembodiment, processor 202 may be configured to execute instructionsstored in memory 204 or otherwise accessible to processor 202. Theseinstructions, when executed by processor 202, may cause circuitry 200 toperform one or more of the functionalities described herein.

Whether configured by hardware, firmware/software methods, or by acombination thereof, processor 202 may comprise an entity capable ofperforming operations according to embodiments discussed herein whileconfigured accordingly. Thus, for example, when processor 202 isembodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, processor 202 may comprisespecifically configured hardware for conducting one or more operationsdescribed herein. As another example, when processor 202 may be embodiedas an executor of instructions, such as may be stored in memory 204, theinstructions may specifically configure processor 202 to perform one ormore algorithms, methods or operations described herein. For example,processor 202 may be configured to execute operating systemapplications, firmware applications, media playback applications, mediaediting applications, among other things.

Memory 204 may comprise, for example, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, or some combination thereof. Although illustrated in FIG. 2 as asingle memory, memory 204 may comprise a plurality of memory components.The plurality of memory components may be embodied on a single computingcomponent or distributed across a plurality of computing components. Invarious embodiments, memory 204 may comprise, for example, a hard disk,random access memory, cache memory, flash memory, a compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM), solid state memory, digital versatile disc readonly memory (DVD-ROM), an optical disc, circuitry configured to storeinformation, integrated circuitry, chemical/biological memory, paper, orsome combination thereof. Memory 204 may be configured to storeinformation, data, applications, instructions, or the like for enablingcircuitry 200 to carry out various functions in accordance with exampleembodiments discussed herein. For example, in at least some embodiments,memory 204 may be configured to buffer input data for processing byprocessor 202. Additionally or alternatively, in at least someembodiments, memory 204 may be configured to store program instructionsfor execution by processor 202 and/or data for processing by processor202. Memory 204 may store information in the form of static and/ordynamic information. This stored information may be stored and/or usedby circuitry 200 during the course of performing its functionalities.

Communications module 206 may be embodied as any component or meansembodied in circuitry, hardware, a computer program product comprisingcomputer readable program instructions stored on a computer readablemedium (e.g., memory 204) and executed by a processing device (e.g.,processor 202), or a combination thereof that is configured to receiveand/or transmit data from/to another device, such as, for example, asecond circuitry 200 and/or the like. In some embodiments,communications module 206 (like other components discussed herein) canbe at least partially embodied as or otherwise controlled by processor202. In this regard, communications module 206 may be in communicationwith processor 202, such as via a bus. Communications module 206 mayinclude, for example, an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, atransceiver, network interface card and/or supporting hardware and/orfirmware/software for enabling communications. Communications module 206may be configured to receive and/or transmit any data that may be storedby memory 204 using any protocol that may be used for communications.Communications module 206 may additionally and/or alternatively be incommunication with the memory 204, input/output module 208 and/or anyother component of circuitry 200, such as via a bus. Communicationsmodule 206 may be configured to use one or more communications protocolssuch as, for example, short messaging service (SMS), Wi-Fi (e.g., a802.11 protocol, Bluetooth, etc.), radio frequency systems (e.g., 900MHz, 1.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared, GSM, GSMplus EDGE, CDMA, quadband, and other cellular protocols, VOIP, or anyother suitable protocol.

Input/output module 208 may be in communication with processor 202 toreceive an indication of an input and/or to provide an audible, visual,mechanical, or other output. In that sense, input/output module 208 mayinclude means for performing analog-to-digital and/or digital-to-analogdata conversions. Input/output module 208 may include support, forexample, for a display, touchscreen, keyboard, button, click wheel,mouse, joystick, an image capturing device (e.g., a camera), motionsensor (e.g., accelerometer and/or gyroscope), microphone, audiorecorder, speaker, biometric scanner, and/or other input/outputmechanisms. In embodiments where circuitry 200 may be implemented as aserver or database, aspects of input/output module 208 may be reduced ascompared to embodiments where circuitry 200 may be implemented as forcomplex user interactions. In some embodiments (like other componentsdiscussed herein), input/output module 208 may even be eliminated fromcircuitry 200. Alternatively, such as in embodiments wherein circuitry200 is embodied as a server or database, at least some aspects ofinput/output module 208 may be embodied on an apparatus used by a userthat is in communication with circuitry 200. Input/output module 208 maybe in communication with memory 204, communications module 206, and/orany other component(s), such as via a bus. Although more than oneinput/output module and/or other component can be included in circuitry200, only one is shown in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating thedisclosure (e.g., like the other components discussed herein).

In some embodiments, consumer interface module 210 may also or insteadbe included and configured to perform the functionality discussed hereinrelated providing a consumer interface. In some embodiments, some or allof the functionality of consumer interface module 210 may be performedby processor 202. In this regard, some or all of the example processesand algorithms discussed herein can be performed by at least oneprocessor 202 and/or consumer interface module 210. For example,non-transitory computer readable storage media can be configured tostore firmware, one or more application programs, and/or other software,which include instructions and other computer-readable program codeportions that can be executed to control processors of the components ofsystem 200 to implement various operations, including the examples shownherein. As such, a series of computer-readable program code portions maybe embodied in one or more computer program products and can be used,with a device, server, database, and/or other programmable apparatus, toproduce the machine-implemented processes discussed herein.

Any such computer program instructions and/or other type of code may beloaded onto a computer, processor or other programmable apparatus'scircuitry to produce a machine, such that the computer, processor otherprogrammable circuitry that executes the code may be the means forimplementing various functions, including those described herein. Insome embodiments, one or more external systems (such as a remote cloudcomputing and/or data storage system) may also be leveraged to provideat least some of the functionality discussed herein.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,various embodiments may be implemented as methods, mediums, devices,servers, databases, systems, and the like. Accordingly, embodiments maycomprise various means including entirely of hardware or any combinationof software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments may take the form ofa computer program product on at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable programinstructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storage medium.Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized includingnon-transitory hard disks, CD/DVD-ROMs, flash memory, optical storagedevices, quantum storage devices, chemical storage devices, biologicalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, etc.

Embodiments have been described above with reference to block diagramsof components, such as functional modules, system components andcircuitry. Below is a discussion of an example process flowchartsdescribing functionality that may be implemented by one or morecomponents discussed above. Each block of the block diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks diagrams and process flowcharts,respectively, can be implemented by various means including computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, such as processor 202, toproduce a machine, such that the computer program product includes theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to create a means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage device (e.g., memory 204) that can direct acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable storage device produce an article of manufactureincluding computer-readable instructions for implementing the functiondiscussed herein. The computer program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions discussed herein.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that each block of the block diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and processflowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedcomputer systems that perform the specified functions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

User Definition of Compound Consumer Inputs for Initiating Commands

Certain exemplary embodiments enable a consumer, and/or the system, todefine a particular set of interactions that, when entered by theconsumer using a consumer interface, initiate a particular command. Theconsumer may also be allowed to associate different compound consumerinputs with different commands. A command may alter any aspect of theoperation or function of the computing device (e.g., activate or shutdown an application program or the computing device itself), or mayinitiate an action taken to facilitate a transaction (e.g., a commercialtransaction such as purchasing a promotion offered by a promotion andmarketing service). For example, a consumer may predefine a firstcompound consumer input for initiating a first command (e.g., thatdrawing the letter “f” over a touchscreen representation of an item mayinitiate a command for sharing the item on Facebook), and a secondcompound consumer input for initiating a second command (e.g., thatdrawing the letter “t” over a touchscreen representation of an item mayinitiate a command for sharing the item on Twitter), and the like.Providing a user-defined suite of compound consumer inputs in anapplication program enables a consumer to initiate commands in a fastand efficient manner as the user-specified inputs act as shortcuts forthe commands. The user definition of the compound consumer inputs isalso advantageous as they are customized for consumers and are thereforeintuitive and easy to remember.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating a computer-executable method 300 forenabling a consumer to define predefined or consumer-defined consumerinput that, when entered by the consumer on a consumer interface, willinitiate a particular command. In step 304, computer-executableinstructions may be executed to cause the consumer interface to displaya representation of a particular command, e.g., a command associatedwith a promotion, such as purchasing a promotion. The representation ofthe command may be a text, pictorial, graphic or audio indication ordescription of the command. In certain embodiments, the instructionsexecuted may be provided in or by a promotion application program.

In step 306, computer-executable instructions may be executed to causethe consumer interface to display a consumer input definition interfaceassociated with the command. The input definition interface may includean indication of one or more (e.g., all) commands that the consumerdevice is configured to process. Additionally or alternatively, theinput definition interface may allow the consumer to generateconsumer-defined commands that may be different from predefined commandsand/or may include bundles of two or more predefined commands (e.g., tofurther streamline the consumer interface). Advantageously, there isless concern that the consumer has inadvertently or, withoutauthorization, provided consumer input associated with a command whenthe command and/or consumer input are consumer-defined. Furthermore,various consumers may find certain types of consumer inputs easier toreplicate, remember, use, etc.

In some embodiments, the consumer input definition interface mayinclude, but is not limited to, one or more of: a full touchscreen (forcapturing touch gestures entered by the consumer on the consumerinterface), a portion of a touchscreen (for capturing touch gesturesentered by the consumer on the consumer interface), a photo camera (forcapturing images of the consumer's body and/or physical gestures), avideo camera (for capturing images of the consumer's body and/orphysical gestures), an audio recorder (for capturing speech or soundgenerated by the consumer), a keyboard (for capturing alphanumericcharacters entered by the consumer), a pointing device like a mouse (forcapturing click actions performed by the consumer), and the like. Incertain embodiments, the instructions executed may be provided in or bya promotion application program. In some embodiments, the consumer inputdefinition interface may be provided as an onboarding and/or calibrationstep prior to providing the consumer interface to the computing device.

In step 308, in certain embodiments, an instruction may be provided tothe consumer to instruct or train him/her in defining consumer inputassociated with the command. The instruction may include, but is notlimited to, text instruction, graphic instruction, audio instruction, ademonstration, and the like. For example, a demonstration may visuallyrender the tracing of a programmed and predetermined compound consumerinput at the consumer input definition interface, and may instruct theconsumer that the exemplary compound consumer input may be associatedwith a purchase command, e.g., a promotion purchase command.

Upon the consumer interacting with the consumer input definitioninterface, in step 310, corresponding input definition data defining theinteractions may be received at the consumer input definition interface.In some embodiments, the consumer may be allowed to select a command,which may result in a window, prompt or input interface being displayedon the consumer device for receiving the input definition dataassociated with the selected command. The input definition data maycorrespond with any of the types of compound consumer input and/orcompound consumer input data discussed herein, including touchscreendata, voice data, motion data, and/or image (and/or video) data. In thatsense, the consumer device may be further configured to receive aselection of an input device, activate and/or otherwise connect theinput device with the consumer input definition interface, and/orgenerate interfaces as suitable depending on the selected input device.In some embodiments, a command, compound consumer input definition data,compound consumer input data, and/or a compound consumer input may beassociated with inputs from one or more different input devices.

In step 312, a particular compound consumer input may be generatedautomatically based on the input definition data received. For example,the compound consumer input may include an ordered and/or time-based setof inputs. In some embodiments, generating the compound consumer inputmay further include processing the input definition data, includingnoise filtering and/or other optimization algorithms. In someembodiments, the consumer input may be set to be the exact consumerinteraction indicated by the input definition data, or an approximateversion of the consumer interaction indicated by the input definitiondata. For example, if the input definition data indicates that theconsumer wishes to use the letter “b” to indicate a purchase decision,then an approximate visual outline of the letter “b” may be set as theconsumer input that corresponds to a purchase command. Said differently,the input definition data may configured the device to initiate apurchase in response to the consumer tracing the letter “b” proximate apromotion presented via the interface.

In step 314, the generated consumer input may be associated with thecommand. In step 316, the association generated may be stored in anon-transitory storage medium in association with the command specifiedand with an identification of the consumer, an identification of theconsumer and/or an identification of the consumer interface.

The server and/or consumer device may be configured to receive secondinput definition data defining a second consumer interaction with theconsumer device. In some embodiments, the server and/or consumer devicemay be configured to compare second input definition data with one ormore existing compound consumer inputs. If the second input definitiondata matches, corresponds with, meets an algorithmic similarity test,and/or otherwise corresponds too closely with an existing compoundconsumer input, the user may be notified and allowed to providedifferent input definition data. Similarly, if the second inputdefinition data is sufficiently unique from an existing compoundconsumer input, the second input definition data may be accepted. Theserver and/or consumer device may be configured to generate a secondcompound consumer input based on the second input definition data.

The method 300 may be repeated for the same consumer to enable theconsumer to define consumer input for different commands. In oneembodiment, the consumer interface may be configured to display a secondconsumer input definition interface including an indication of a secondcommand. Second input definition data defining a second consumerinteraction may be received from the second consumer input definitioninterface. In response, a second consumer input may be generated basedon the second input definition data. The second consumer input may beassociated with the second command for the consumer. The associationamong the second consumer input, the second command and the consumer maybe stored on a non-transitory storage device. In this embodiment, afirst command is automatically initiated upon receipt of a firstconsumer input corresponding to a first command from a consumerinterface, while a second command is automatically initiated uponreceipt of a second consumer input corresponding to a second commandfrom the consumer interface.

The method 300 may be performed independently for different consumerinterfaces displayed for different consumers so that consumers maycustomize the meaning of their input. For example, a first consumer maydefine the letter “b” (i.e., a letter “b” drawn by the user via atouchscreen) to mean a purchase command, while a second consumer maydefine the letter “b” to mean a favorite command and the letter “c” tomean a cancel purchase command.

In an exemplary embodiment, a second consumer input definition interfacemay be displayed on a second visual display of a second computing deviceassociated with a second consumer. The second consumer input definitioninterface may include a second indication of a second command. Secondinput definition data defining a second consumer interaction may bereceived from the second consumer interface. A second consumer input maybe generated based on the second input definition data, and associatedwith the second command and the second consumer.

Subsequently upon determining that a consumer input corresponds to thecommand, as associated in method 300, one or more actions may be takento initiate the command, for example, by retrieving and transmittinginformation on an item on which the command is executed.

FIG. 3B shows an example consumer input definition interface 400 inaccordance with some embodiments, as shown in step 306 of FIG. 3A. Inputdefinition interface 400 may include command indications 402, 404, and406. In certain embodiments, as shown in step 308 of FIG. 3A, a consumermay be provided with instructions on using the consumer input definitioninterface 400 to define compound consumer input corresponding to thecommands. In response to the consumer selecting a command indication, aninput interface 408 may be displayed within the consumer inputdefinition interface 400.

As shown in step 310 of FIG. 3A, the consumer may then provide aconsumer input to define a compound consumer input in relation to aparticular command so that input of the compound consumer inputautomatically initiates execution of the command. An exemplary compoundconsumer input may be provided as touchscreen interaction 410 withininput interface 408. For example, the consumer may define a firstcompound consumer input or interaction for initiating a first command(e.g., drawing the letter “f” over a representation of an item to sharethe item on Facebook), and a second different compound consumer input orinteraction for initiating a second command (e.g., drawing the letter“t” over a representation of an item to share the item on Twitter).

Exemplary compound consumer input may include, without limitation, oneor more of: a multi-point touchscreen press action, multiple touchscreenpress or tap actions in sequence, a touchscreen press and hold actionfor a minimum threshold time duration (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11, 12, 13 seconds), a touchscreen hold and drag action, a touchscreendrag and drop action, a touchscreen pinch action, a touchscreen unpinchaction, a touchscreen swipe or slide action (e.g., left-to-right,right-to-left, up-to-down, down-to-up, diagonal or any other direction),a multi-point touchscreen swipe or slide action (e.g., to create acheckmark, letter, or other finger drawn character), a screen pull-downaction, a device shake action, a device twist action, a movement of thecomputing device, a change in orientation of the computing device, atouchscreen writing action, a touchscreen drawing or writing motion, atouchscreen selection or tracing of one or more alphanumeric characters,a static or moving gesture captured by a camera, or an audible (e.g.,speaking, etc.) of a sound captured by a voice recorder.

As shown in steps 312 and 314 of FIG. 3A, the input definition data ofthe interaction entered by the consumer may be used to generate aparticular compound consumer input that is associated with theparticular command.

Exemplary consumer interfaces enable consumers to provide compoundconsumer inputs at a consumer interface that initiate execution ofcommands associated with the compound consumer inputs. To this end,exemplary embodiments store, on non-transitory computer-readable mediaor storage, associations between one or more commands and correspondingcompound consumer inputs that, when entered by a consumer at a consumerinterface, initiate the commands. An association between a command and acompound consumer input may be consumer-defined, i.e., a consumer may beenabled to specify a compound consumer input that will initiate acommand. An association between a command and a consumer input may alsobe predefined, i.e., an application program providing exemplaryfunctionality may have a predefined consumer input associated with acommand. Exemplary embodiments detect a consumer interaction with theconsumer interface, automatically determine if the consumer interactioncorresponds exactly or approximately to a predefined compound consumerinput and, if so, initiate the command associated with the consumerinput.

The association between a particular compound consumer input and aparticular command enable a consumer to initiate the command in a fastand efficient manner without having to invoke the command using aconventional method that may require more extensive inputs or, in somecases, the use of a more complex and less intuitive consumer interface.Additionally, the consumer specification of the compound consumer inputas opposed to a simple click, in certain embodiments, ensures thataccidentally or inadvertently entered input is not interpreted as aconsumer input that should initiate a command.

In certain embodiments, compound consumer input may be provided toinitiate commands involving promotions provided by a promotion andmarketing service. However, the use of exemplary compound consumerinputs to initiate commands is not limited to transactions involvingpromotions provided by a promotion and marketing service. In otherembodiments, compound consumer inputs may be provided to initiatecommands involving transactions regarding any items that may or may notbe promotions.

In certain embodiments, for a purchase transaction, an electronicshopping cart is not associated with the item to be purchased and thepurchase command does not require the consumer to use an electronicshopping cart. In certain embodiments, a purchase confirmation is notrequired from the consumer prior to initiating the purchase command. Incertain convention consumer interfaces, a purchase confirmation isrequired from a consumer in which the consumer reviews and confirms thepurchase information embedded in the purchase command. In theseembodiments, skipping the electronic shopping cart in the consumerinterface interaction enables the transaction to proceed with the fewestnumber of steps required by the consumer, thereby ensuring a fast andefficient purchase process. In certain embodiments, payment informationassociated with the consumer (e.g., credit card information) may bestored, and the consumer may not be required to enter this informationduring initiation of the purchase command, thereby increasing the speedand efficiency of the transaction.

Predefined Compound Consumer Inputs for Initiating Commands

Certain exemplary embodiments enable an application program to predefinecompound consumer inputs that, when entered by a consumer using aconsumer interface, initiate execution of one or more commands. Forexample, the application program may predefine a first compound consumerinput for initiating a first command (e.g., that drawing the letter “f”over a touchscreen representation of an item may initiate a command forsharing the item on Facebook), and a second compound consumer input forinitiating a second command (e.g., that drawing the letter “t” over atouchscreen representation of an item may initiate a command for sharingthe item on Twitter), and the like. Providing a predefined suite ofcompound consumer inputs in an application program enables a consumer toinitiate commands in a fast and efficient manner as the predefinedinputs act as shortcuts for the commands. The predefinition of thecompound consumer inputs is also advantageous for consumers who wish touse these shortcuts without having the wish or ability to define themhimself/herself.

An exemplary command, thus initiated, may alter any aspect of theoperation or function of the computing device executing the applicationprogram (e.g., activate or shut down the application program or thecomputing device itself), or may initiate an action taken to facilitatea transaction (e.g., a commercial transaction such as purchase of apromotion offered by a promotion and marketing service).

In some embodiments, a predefined compound consumer input for initiatinga command may not be overridden by a consumer.

In other embodiments, a consumer may be allowed to override a compoundconsumer input predefined for initiating a command, and to define aconsumer-specific compound consumer input to initiate the command. Insome embodiments, the consumer input definition interface may include,but is not limited to, one or more of: a full touchscreen (for capturingtouch gestures entered by the consumer on the consumer interface), aportion of a touchscreen (for capturing touch gestures entered by theconsumer on the consumer interface), a photo camera (for capturingimages of the consumer's body and/or physical gestures), a video camera(for capturing images of the consumer's body and/or physical gestures),an audio recorder (for capturing speech or sound generated by theconsumer), a keyboard (for capturing alphanumeric characters entered bythe consumer), a pointing device like a mouse (for capturing clickactions performed by the consumer), and the like. In some embodiments,the consumer input definition interface may be provided as an onboardingand/or calibration step prior to providing the consumer interface to thecomputing device.

In these embodiments, the consumer interface may provide a consumerinput definition interface to enable a consumer to generate aconsumer-defined compound consumer input that may be different from apredefined compound consumer input and/or may include bundles of two ormore predefined compound consumer inputs (e.g., to further streamlinethe consumer interface). For example, for a predefined first associationbetween a first compound consumer input and a first command, a consumermay define a second compound consumer input for the same first command.In this example, a second association may be generated between thesecond compound consumer input and the first command such that entry ofthe second compound consumer input initiates the first command. In somecases, the first association may be removed or deleted such that entryof the first compound consumer input no longer initiates the firstcommand. In other cases, the first association and the secondassociation may both remain valid so that entry of either the first orthe second compound consumer input initiates the first command.

In some cases, a single compound consumer input formed by a plurality ofcompound consumer inputs may be defined to initiate a plurality ofconcurrent or sequential commands. In some cases, a first portion of thecompound consumer input may initiate execution of a first command, and asecond portion of the compound consumer input may initiate execution ofa second command. For example, a left-to-right swipe or slide followedimmediately by a right-to-left swipe or slide may be defined as a singlecompound consumer input and may correspond to, respectively, first andsecond commands.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a computer-executable method 350 forproviding and using one or more predefined compound consumer inputs forinitiating one or more commands using a consumer interface. In step 352,a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be used to storeassociations between one or more application program commands and one ormore corresponding compound consumer inputs that, when entered on theconsumer interface, initiate the commands. For example, a predefinedfirst association may be provided between a first compound consumerinput and a first command (e.g., that the compound consumer inputdefined by drawing the letter “f” on a touchscreen initiates a commandfor sharing an item on Facebook), such that receipt of the firstcompound consumer input at the consumer interface initiates the firstcommand, and a predefined second association may be provided between asecond compound consumer input and a second command (e.g., that thecompound consumer input defined by drawing the letter “t” on atouchscreen initiates a command for sharing an item on Twitter), suchthat receipt of the second compound consumer input at the consumerinterface initiates the second command.

An application program may have associated therewith and may access theassociations stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium instep 352 such that a consumer or user of the application program isreadily provided with the associations without needing to definecompound consumer inputs for initiating the commands.

In step 354, in certain embodiments, the application program mayvisually display the associations provided in step 352 such that aconsumer or user of the application program is trained on the compoundconsumer inputs required to initiating particular commands. In oneexample, the application program may visually render an indication ofeach command and a corresponding static or moving visual representationof the compound consumer input required to initiate the command.

In step 356, during use of the application program, a representation ofan item may be displayed on a consumer interface rendered on a visualdisplay of a computing device in association with the applicationprogram. The representation of the item may be a text, pictorial,graphic or audio indication or description of the item. In someexemplary non-limiting embodiments, the item may be a product or servicethat may be purchased by the consumer using the consumer interface. Insome exemplary non-limiting embodiments, the item may be a promotionprovided by a promotion and marketing service, and the representation ofthe item may be an impression.

In step 358, the application program may detect that consumer input hasbeen received at the consumer interface in association with the displayof the representation of the item. For example, the application programmay determine that consumer input has been entered within the dimensionof a region of the consumer interface reserved for the item represented.

In step 360, the application program may analyze the consumer input andcompare the consumer input to the predefined compound consumer inputsstored in step 352 in order to determine whether the received consumerinput matches or approximates one of the predefined compound consumerinputs. In some embodiments, the application program may detect theshape, size, position on the consumer interface, sequence of positionson the consumer interface, movement across the consumer interface,and/or temporal nature of the consumer input and compare these featuresof the consumer input to corresponding features in the predefinedcompound consumer inputs. For example, two touches within the samegeneral area of the consumer interface in quick succession may indicatethat the consumer has entered a predefined “double tap” compoundconsumer input.

In step 362, upon detecting that the consumer input received at step 358matches or approximates a first predefined compound consumer input, theapplication program may determine a corresponding first command based onthe associations stored in step 352. The application program maysubsequently automatically initiate execution of the first command inrelation to the item represented. As one example, upon detection of a“double tap” compound consumer input, an association may be retrieved todetermine that this compound consumer input is associated with an emailaction. In this case, the application program may send an email to theconsumer including information on the item represented. As anotherexample, upon detection of a compound consumer input of a user drawingthe letter “f” using the consumer interface, an association may beretrieved to determine that this compound consumer input is associatedwith a Facebook share action. In this case, the application program mayautomatically share information on the item on Facebook with one or moreof the consumer's Facebook acquaintances.

Subsequently, additional consumer input may be received at the consumerinterface in relation to the item represented. Steps 358-362 may berepeated to determine if a second command should be automaticallyexecuted based on the received consumer input in relation to the item.

In certain embodiments, the consumer interface may displayrepresentations of more than one item and enable a consumer to usepredefined compound consumer inputs in relation to the plurality ofitems. Additional consumer input may be received at the consumerinterface in relation to the additional item represented. Steps 358-362may be repeated to determine if additional commands should beautomatically executed based on the received consumer input in relationto the additional item.

In some embodiments, a plurality of item representations may bedisplayed sequentially on the consumer interface so that the consumermay enter consumer input in relation to each item in a sequentialmanner. For example, a first display of the consumer interface maypresent a first item representation and a first touchscreen regionconfigured to receive consumer input in relation to the first item, anda second display of the consumer interface may present a second itemrepresentation and the first touchscreen region configured to receiveconsumer input in relation to the second item. In some embodiments, theitem representations may be displayed concurrently on the consumerinterface. For example, the consumer interface may present a first itemrepresentation, a first touchscreen region configured to receiveconsumer input in relation to the first item, a second itemrepresentation and a second touchscreen region configured to receiveconsumer input in relation to the second item.

Exemplary Interactions with Consumer Interface

Exemplary consumer interfaces enable consumers to provide compoundconsumer inputs at a consumer interface that initiate execution ofcommands associated with the compound consumer inputs. To this end,exemplary embodiments store, on non-transitory computer-readable mediaor storage, associations between one or more commands and correspondingcompound consumer inputs that, when entered by a consumer at a consumerinterface, initiate the commands. An association between a command and acompound consumer input may be consumer-defined, i.e., a consumer may beenabled to specify a compound consumer input that will initiate acommand. An association between a command and a consumer input may alsobe predefined, i.e., an application program providing exemplaryfunctionality may have a predefined consumer input associated with acommand. Exemplary embodiments detect a consumer interaction with theconsumer interface, automatically determine if the consumer interactioncorresponds exactly or approximately to a predefined compound consumerinput and, if so, initiate the command associated with the consumerinput.

The predefined or consumer-defined association between a particularconsumer input and a particular command enable a consumer to initiatethe command in a fast and efficient manner without having to invoke thecommand using a conventional method that may require more extensiveinputs or, in some cases, the use of a more complex and less intuitiveconsumer interface. Additionally, the consumer specification of thecompound consumer input as opposed to a simple click, in certainembodiments, ensures that accidentally or inadvertently entered input isnot interpreted as a consumer input that should initiate a command.

In certain embodiments, compound consumer input may be provided toinitiate commands involving promotions provided by a promotion andmarketing service. However, the use of exemplary compound consumerinputs to initiate commands is not limited to transactions involvingpromotions provided by a promotion and marketing service. In otherembodiments, compound consumer inputs may be provided to initiatecommands involving transactions regarding any items that may or may notbe promotions.

In certain embodiments, for a purchase transaction, an electronicshopping cart is not associated with the item to be purchased and thepurchase command does not require the consumer to use an electronicshopping cart. In certain embodiments, a purchase confirmation is notrequired from the consumer prior to initiating the purchase command. Incertain convention consumer interfaces, a purchase confirmation isrequired from a consumer in which the consumer reviews and confirms thepurchase information embedded in the purchase command. In theseembodiments, skipping the electronic shopping cart in the consumerinterface interaction enables the transaction to proceed with the fewestnumber of steps required by the consumer, thereby ensuring a fast andefficient purchase process. In certain embodiments, payment informationassociated with the consumer (e.g., credit card information) may bestored, and the consumer may not be required to enter this informationduring initiation of the purchase command, thereby increasing the speedand efficiency of the transaction.

In certain other embodiments, a consumer interface may include arepresentation of an electronic shopping cart or a representation of apurchase drop region. In some cases, in order to initiate a purchasecommand, a consumer may provide or enter a compound consumer input suchthat part or all of the consumer input overlaps with the representationof the shopping cart or the representation of the purchase drop region.

In one exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, a compound consumer input maybe provided by a consumer to initiate a command associated with atransaction for a promotion provided by a promotion and marketingservice. For example, a consumer may initiate purchase of a promotionusing a touchscreen swipe or slide action on a consumer interface. FIG.5 shows an example method 500 of facilitating a transaction for apromotion in accordance with some embodiments. Method 500, as well asthe other methods herein, is discussed as being performed by a consumerdevice (e.g., consumer device 106), a provider device (e.g., providerdevice 108), and a server (e.g., server 114 of system 102 includingdatabase 116). However, in some embodiments, other suitable structuresthat can be suitably configured to perform method 500 can be usedincluding circuitry, devices, apparatuses, networks, and/or among otherthings.

In step 504, a server (e.g., server 114 and/or other networked device)may be configured to send a request to a consumer device for approval offacilitating transactions without requiring a (e.g., subsequent oradditional) request for a purchase confirmation (and/or receipt of aconsumer response to such a subsequent or additional request) whenapplicable consumer input data has been received. For example, thetransaction may include a financial transaction, commercial transaction,e-commerce transaction, electronic transaction, etc., and may beprogrammatically initiated based on one or more instances of compoundconsumer input generated by the consumer via one or more user inputdevices of the consumer device indicating a purchase command, e.g., apromotion purchase command.

At 506, the server may be configured to receive consumer approval dataindicating approval to facilitate transactions without requiring thepurchase confirmation after receiving consumer input data indicating thepurchase command. For example, the consumer approval data may begenerated by the consumer device and sent to the server in response toreceiving the request at 504.

At 508, the server may be configured to receive payment data from theconsumer device. For example, the payment data may include credit carddata (e.g., card number, expiration date, card verification value),debit card data, financial account data, electronic payment accountdata, and/or any other data capable of being used by the server tofacilitate the transaction.

At 510, the server may be configured to store the payment data. Forexample, the payment data may be stored in association with a consumeraccount of a consumer associated with the consumer device. In someembodiments, the payment data may be stored in a database (e.g.,database 116) for subsequent use, such as in response to receivingconsumer input data corresponding with a purchase command. In someembodiments, the payment data may be stored as one or more tokens, keys,codes, etc., for enhanced security. In some embodiments, the paymentdata may be stored in response to receiving the consumer approval dataindicating the approval to facilitate transactions without requiring thepurchase confirmation. In some embodiments, steps 504-510 may beperformed as part of an initialization, onboarding, and/or calibrationprocess that does not need to be repeated each time a promotion (oritem) purchase command is initiated by the consumer.

At 512, in some embodiments, the server and/or consumer device may beconfigured to associate a compound consumer input with a purchasecommand, e.g., a promotion purchase command. The compound consumer inputmay be associated with a command that accesses a functionality providedby a promotion and marketing system (e.g., system 102), such as thepurchase command. In some embodiments, the compound consumer input maybe associated with a purchase command for purchase any item (e.g.,product, service, experience, promotion, etc.) that may or may not be apromotion or a promotional item.

At 514, the server and/or consumer device may be configured to provide aconsumer interface to a display of a consumer device. The consumerinterface may include or display an impression indicating one or morepromotions. In some embodiments, each of the one or more promotions maybe associated with an interaction region of the consumer interface.Additionally or alternatively, the consumer device may be configured togenerate the consumer interface and receive promotion data (e.g.,indicating one or more promotion parameters, promotion details, etc.)and/or impression data (e.g., indicating characteristics of theimpression), which may be provided to the consumer interface. In someembodiments, the consumer interface may include or display an impressionindicating one or more items.

The consumer interface may be provided using various techniques and/orthrough a variety of communication channels. For example, the consumerinterface may include: an email interface, a text message interface, amobile application interface, a mobile push notification interface, amobile touchscreen lock interface, a map display interface (e.g.,including a map with impressions and/or references to impressions) shownbased on geographic location of the provider, a home screen interface(e.g., of a mobile device operating system) and/or a mobile widgetinterface. For example, upon receiving an email or a push notificationwith an impression of a promotion, a consumer may provide a compoundconsumer input on the consumer interface associated with the impression.This will automatically result in a promotion application programprocessing the compound consumer input in the background to facilitateexecution of a command associated with the compound consumer input.

At 516, the server and/or consumer device may be configured to receivedata on a compound consumer input provided at an interaction region of apromotion of the one or more promotions. The compound consumer input maybe provided by a consumer via an input device of the consumer device. Insome embodiments, an interaction region of a promotion may include agraphical display and/or text display that indicates the promotionand/or its promotion parameters. In some embodiments, the interactionregion may include a “buy button,” among other things. In someembodiments, the server and/or consumer device may be configured toreceive data on a compound consumer input provided by a consumer at aninteraction region of an item of one or more items represented within aconsumer interface.

At 518, in response to receiving the consumer input data, the serverand/or consumer device may be configured to determine whether thepromotion (or item) purchase command has been initiated based on theconsumer input data corresponding with the compound consumer input. Forexample, the server may be configured to compare data on the compoundconsumer input with one or more compound consumer inputs (e.g., eachassociated with a different command) to determine a compound consumerinput that matches, substantially matches, most closely matches, and/orotherwise corresponds with the received compound consumer input. In someembodiments, such as where the consumer device is configured todetermine the purchase command and/or other command, the consumer devicemay be configured to provide the determined command to the server.

As discussed above, the consumer interface may be provided via a varietyof different channels including an email interface, a mobile home screeninterface, a text message interface, a map display interface, a mobileapplication interface, a mobile push notification interface, a mobiletouchscreen lock interface, and a mobile widget interface. In someembodiments, the server may be configured to receive data on thecompound consumer input and/or associated command via the samecommunication channel as the consumer interface and/or impression. Inanother example, the consumer device may be configured to provide dataon the compound consumer input and/or associated command via a dedicatedcommunication channel (e.g., regardless of the communication channel ofthe consumer interface). For example, where the consumer interface ispart of an email interface, the consumer device may be configured togenerate data on the compound consumer input and/or command, and may befurther configured to provide the data to the server via a mobileapplication. In some embodiments, the mobile application may include theconsumer interface and may be launched based on consumer selection of areference within an impression provided via a different communicationchannel (e.g., email, text, etc.). In some embodiments, a mobileoperating system may be configured to receive data on the compoundconsumer input from an input device, determine a command based on thedata, and provide the data on the compound consumer input and/or commandto the server. In that sense, the compound consumer inputs and/orconsumer interactions may be used for virtually any communicationchannel, and may even be used for applications other than the mobileapplication including the consumer interface.

At 520, the server and/or consumer device may be configured tofacilitate a transaction for the promotion when the purchase command hasbeen initiated. In some embodiments, the server may be configured tofacilitate the transaction using the payment data. For example,facilitating the transaction may include charging the consumer theaccepted value of the promotion. The server may be configured to furtherprovide an instrument for redemption of the promotion to the consumerdevice. In some embodiments, the server and/or consumer device may beconfigured to facilitate a transaction for an item when an item purchasecommand has been initiated.

Some embodiments may provide for a streamlined purchase experience. Forexample, the server may be configured to facilitate the transactionwithout associating the promotion with an electronic shopping cart.Here, the consumer interface may not be required to take the consumer toa checkout display for providing payment data, purchase confirmation,and/or the like. Instead, the payment data stored within the system maybe used automatically, such as in response to a determination by theserver that the consumer approval data has been previously received fromthe consumer device at 506. In some embodiments, the server may beconfigured to facilitate the transaction without requesting a subsequentpurchase confirmation after determining that the purchase command hasbeen initiated. For example, the consumer interface may be configured toprovide a purchased summary and/or “thank you for the purchase”indicator without further consumer interaction subsequent to initiatingthe purchase command.

FIG. 6 shows an example method 600 of facilitating a transaction inaccordance with some embodiments. Method 600, as well as the othermethods herein, is discussed as being performed by a consumer device(e.g., consumer device 106), a provider device (e.g., provider device108), and a server (e.g., server 114 of system 102 including database116). However, in some embodiments, other suitable structures that canbe suitably configured to perform method 600 can be used includingcircuitry, devices, apparatuses, networks, and/or among other things.

Method 600 may be performed to provide a consumer interface to consumerdevices for generating consumer interactions that trigger variouscommands at the server. In step 604, computer-executable instructionsmay be sent to cause an impression of a promotion to be displayed on aconsumer interface. In step 606, a compound consumer input associatedwith the promotion may be received from the consumer interface. In step608, it may be determined that the compound consumer input is associatedwith a particular command, for example, a purchase command. In step 610,the application program may automatically initiate execution of thecommand so that the functionality embodied in the command is carriedout. In some examples in which the command is a purchase command, thecommand may be executed to initiate purchase of the item by generatingan order for the item.

FIG. 7A shows an example method 700 of facilitating a transaction inaccordance with some embodiments. Method 700, as well as the othermethods herein, is discussed as being performed by a consumer device(e.g., consumer device 106), a provider device (e.g., provider device108), and a server (e.g., server 114 of system 102 including database116). However, in some embodiments, other suitable structures that canbe suitably configured to perform method 700 can be used includingcircuitry, devices, apparatuses, networks, and/or among other things.

In one exemplary non-limiting embodiment, a compound consumer input maybe provided by a consumer to initiate a purchase command associated witha purchase transaction that may or may not involve a promotion providedby a promotion and marketing service. For example, a consumer mayinitiate purchase of a gift item using a touchscreen swipe or slideaction on a consumer interface. Method 700 may be performed to provide aconsumer interface to consumer devices for generating consumerinteractions that trigger various commands at the server. In step 704,computer-executable instructions may be sent to cause a representationof an item to be displayed on a consumer interface. In step 706, acompound consumer input associated with the item may be received fromthe consumer interface. In step 708, it may be determined that thecompound consumer input is associated with a particular command, forexample, a purchase command. In step 710, information stored for theconsumer may be retrieved, for example, payment or identificationinformation. In step 712, an order may be generated to purchase the itemfor the consumer. In step 714, the order confirmation may be transmittedfor display by the computing device of the consumer.

FIG. 7B shows an exemplary consumer interface 750 displaying arepresentation of an item 752 for purchase. The consumer interface 750also includes an interaction region 754 at which a consumer may enterconsumer input in relation to the item 752. Upon detection of aparticular compound consumer input (e.g., a left-to-right swipe or slide758) at the interaction region 754, exemplary embodiments may retrieveinformation stored for the consumer (e.g., identification information,payment information, mailing address, etc.), and automatically generatean order for purchasing the item for the consumer. Exemplary embodimentsmay then transmit order confirmation for display by the consumerinterface, confirming that an order has been placed for the item for theconsumer. FIG. 7C shows the exemplary consumer interface 750 displayingan order confirmation 756 after purchase of the item 752. Certainexemplary embodiments may not display an electronic shopping cart andmay not associate the item 752 with an electronic shopping cart, asshown in FIGS. 7B and 7C. As illustrated, the purchase transaction maynot involve a purchase confirmation interface that requires the consumerto confirm the details of the purchase. That is, the compound consumerinput itself is sufficient to authenticate and initiate the purchasecommand, thereby ensuring a speedy and efficient transaction.

In some embodiments, the compound consumer input may include an input orinteraction performed on a touchscreen display of a computing device.These inputs or interactions may include one or more touch actionsperformed by a consumer via touching or otherwise manipulating atouch-sensitive surface of the touchscreen.

In some embodiments, a touchscreen press action, alone or concurrentlywith one or more other touchscreen or other inputs, may be associatedwith a purchase command, e.g., a promotion purchase command. FIGS. 12Aand 12B show an exemplary consumer interface 1200 in which a touchscreenpress action is used to purchase an item or a promotion for an item. Theconsumer interface 1200 displays a representation of an item 1202 forpurchase. The representation 1202 may be associated with information onthe item, for example, a price, a discounted price, a discount level,number of promotions associated with the item that was alreadypurchased, whether the item has limited availability, highlights ordetailed information on the item, and the like. The consumer interface1200 may include an interaction region 1204 (e.g., a “Buy Now” button)at which a consumer may enter consumer input in relation to item 1202.Upon detection of a particular consumer input (e.g., a touchscreen pressaction) at the interaction region 1204, exemplary embodiments mayretrieve information stored for the consumer (e.g., identificationinformation, payment information 1206, mailing address 1208, etc.), andautomatically generate an order for purchasing the item for theconsumer. Exemplary embodiments may then transmit order confirmation fordisplay by the consumer interface, confirming that an order has beenplaced for the item for the consumer.

FIG. 12B shows the exemplary consumer interface 1200 displaying an orderconfirmation after purchase of the item 1202. Certain exemplaryembodiments may not display an electronic shopping cart and may notassociate the item 1202 with an electronic shopping cart. Asillustrated, the purchase transaction may not involve a purchaseconfirmation interface that requires the consumer to confirm the detailsof the purchase. That is, the touchscreen press consumer input itself issufficient to authenticate and initiate the purchase command, therebyensuring a speedy and efficient transaction.

In some embodiments, a compound consumer input associated with thepurchase command may include a continuous touch interaction (e.g., aswipe, a slide, a press-and-hold, a multi-point swipe, a multi-pointslide, a screen pull-down action, a drawing or writing motion by theconsumer, etc.) on the touch sensitive surface of the touchscreen. Forexample, the continuous touch interaction may be defined by, on thesurface of the a touchscreen: a first point at a first time, a secondpoint at a second time subsequent to the first time, and a third pointat a third time subsequent to the third time. In some embodiments, thesecond point may not form a line with one or more of the first point andthe third point, i.e., the first, second and third points may not becollinear. An example of such a compound consumer input is a checkmark.

FIG. 8 shows an example consumer interface 800 in accordance with someembodiments. Consumer interface 800 may be an example of a consumerinterface that may be provided to a consumer device, such as via anapplication and/or mobile device application. Consumer interface 800 mayinclude impression 802 including one or more promotions 804 a,b,c. Eachpromotion may include and or be associated with an interaction region,which may be the entire display region of the promotion, a portion ofthe display region of the promotion, and/or a region separate from thedisplay region of the promotion within impression and/or consumerinterface. With reference to FIG. 8 , showing consumer interface 800, acompound consumer input 806 defining a checkmark is shown within apromotion 804 a. The compound consumer input 806 includes an arrowindicating the movement pattern of the consumer's finger or thumb alongthe touchscreen to form a checkmark (i.e., moving the consumer's fingerfrom point 1 to point 2 and then to point 3). In some embodiments, acompound consumer input may be defined by the image (e.g., thecheckmark) generated by the compound consumer input and/or thedirection, velocity, timing, start, (one or more) intermediate, and endpoints, among other things. For example, the compound consumer input 806is shown starting at point 1 and proceeding from left to right along thedirection of the arrow to point 2, then point 3.

In some embodiments, the server may be configured to provide animpression including one or more flash promotions. The flash promotionmay be defined by a limited time window (e.g., a minute, severalminutes, an hour, several hours, etc.) in which a promotion may bepurchased. Advantageously, the compound consumer inputs that may beassociated with the purchase command and/or other techniques describedherein may provide for expedient and quick purchase of the flashpromotions.

In some embodiments, a continuous compound consumer input may be definedby, on the surface of the touchscreen, a first point held for at least apredefined amount of time (i.e., a press and hold gesture), therebydefining a press and hold. For example, the consumer may touch and holdon the touch sensitive surface for 2 seconds, 5 seconds, etc. Longerhold times, for example, may provide for greater accuracy in determiningconsumer intent to initiate the purchase command. In some embodiments,the continuous compound consumer input may be additionally defined by atleast a second point at a second time subsequent to the predefinedamount of time that the first point was held. The first and secondpoints may define a predetermined first direction from the first pointto the second point. Here, the compound consumer input may include ahold time at the first point, followed by another input at one or moredifferent points while continuity with the touch sensitive surface ismaintained throughout (e.g., press and hold at point 1 before makingcheckmark 806).

Alternatively or additionally, the another touch interaction may not becontinuous with the hold time or may itself not be a continuous touchinteraction, such as a discontinuous touch interaction with portionsperformed within short durations of each other (e.g., less than asecond, two seconds, etc.). With reference to FIG. 8 , for example,touch interaction 806 may include point 1 being held for (e.g., atleast) a predetermined time by the consumer's finger, and then theconsumer's finger moving rapidly through point 2 and end proximate point3. In another example, touch interaction 806 may include moving rapidlyfrom point 1, followed by point 2 being held for a predetermined time,and then proceeding to point 3. In yet another example, touchinteraction 806 may include point 1, followed by point 2, followed bypoint 3 being held for a predetermined time.

In some embodiments, the continuous touch interaction may be defined by,on the surface of the touchscreen, a first point at a first time, asecond point at a second time subsequent to the first time, where thefirst point and the second point define a first direction from the firstpoint to the second point, thereby defining a swipe or slide in thefirst direction (e.g., up, down, left, right, diagonally, etc.).

FIG. 9 shows an example consumer interface 900 in accordance with someembodiments. Consumer interface 900 may include impression 902 includingone or more promotions 904 a,b,c. Touch interaction 906 may define aswipe or slide from point 1 to point 2, as indicated by the direction ofthe arrow.

FIGS. 13A-13D show an exemplary consumer interface 1300 in which aright-to-left touchscreen slide action is used to purchase an item or apromotion for an item. The consumer interface 1300 displays arepresentation of an item 1302 for purchase. The representation 1302 maybe associated with information on the item, for example, a price, adiscounted price, a discount level, number of promotions associated withthe item that was already purchased, whether the item has limitedavailability, highlights or detailed information on the item, and thelike. The consumer interface 1300 may include an interaction region 1304(e.g., a “Buy Now” button) at which a consumer may enter consumer inputin relation to item 1302.

Upon detection of a particular consumer input (e.g., a right-lefttouchscreen slide action) at the interaction region 1304, exemplaryembodiments may retrieve information stored for the consumer (e.g.,identification information, payment information 1306, mailing address1308, etc.), and automatically generate an order for purchasing the itemfor the consumer. Exemplary embodiments may then transmit orderconfirmation for display by the consumer interface, confirming that anorder has been placed for the item for the consumer.

In one embodiment, the purchase command may be initiated only after theslide action has continuously moved over at least a threshold distanceover the touchscreen or the consumer interface (e.g., from the rightedge of the interaction region 1304 to the left edge, or at leasthalfway across the touchscreen width) and/or for at least a thresholdtime period. In another embodiment, if the slide action was initiatedbut did not continuously move at least over the threshold distanceand/or for at least the threshold time period, then a purchaseconfirmation may be requested from the consumer before the purchasecommand is initiated. This ensures that the purchase command is notinitiated by accidental swipe or slide actions on the touchscreen.

In some embodiments, the speed of the touchscreen action may be detectedand used in determining whether the action should initiate the purchasecommand. The speed may be determined as the distance on the touchscreensurface or consumer interface covered by a continuous touchscreen actiondivided by the time period during which the action is performed. If thespeed is detected to be satisfy (e.g., be above) a predeterminedthreshold, this may indicate that the slide action is accidental and notintended to initiate a purchase command. In this case, even if thethreshold distance has been covered by the slide action, the purchasecommand may not be activated or a purchase confirmation may be requestedfrom the consumer before initiating the purchase command. In anotherexample, if the speed is detected to satisfy (e.g., be above) thepredetermined threshold, then the interaction region 1304 may beconfigured so that a greater distance must be covered by the slideaction before the purchase command is initiated. In this manner, thesensitivity of the slide action may be ratcheted down if the speed ofthe touchscreen action is too high, thereby preventing commands frombeing initiated accidentally.

FIG. 13B shows the consumer interface 1300 in which, upon start of theright-to-left slide action, the interaction region 1304 may displayinstructions to the consumer on how to initiate the purchase command(e.g., “keep sliding to buy”).

FIG. 13C shows the consumer interface 1300 in which, during theright-to-left slide action, the interaction region 1304 may displayfurther instructions to the consumer on how to initiate the purchasecommand (e.g., “release to buy”). In this case, the purchase command maybe initiated after the slide action has covered the threshold distancefrom approximately the right edge to approximately the left edge of theinteraction region 1304. The instructions shown in FIG. 13C may bedisplayed after the threshold distance has been covered and thetouchscreen slide action need only be released (i.e., the consumer'sfinger needs to be raised from the surface of the touchscreen) toinitiate the purchase command.

FIG. 13D shows the exemplary consumer interface 1300 displaying an orderconfirmation after purchase of the item 1302. Certain exemplaryembodiments may not display an electronic shopping cart and may notassociate the item 1302 with an electronic shopping cart. Asillustrated, the purchase transaction may not involve a purchaseconfirmation interface that requires the consumer to confirm the detailsof the purchase. That is, the touchscreen slide consumer input itself issufficient to authenticate and initiate the purchase command, therebyensuring a speedy and efficient transaction.

In one embodiment, the interaction region 1304 may be configured as adual-purpose interaction region or purchase button. Two or more types ofconsumer input may be provided at the interaction region 1304 toinitiate two or more modes of purchase. For example, a touchscreen pressaction may be performed at the interaction region 1304 to initiate apurchase command that may involve displaying a purchase confirmationinterface that requires the consumer to confirm the details of thepurchase. On the other hand, a touchscreen slide or swipe action (e.g.,the right to left slide action illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13C) may beperformed at the interaction region 1304 to initiate a purchase commandthat may not may involve a purchase confirmation interface that requiresthe consumer to confirm the details of the purchase. That is, thetouchscreen slide consumer input itself is sufficient to authenticateand initiate the purchase command, thereby ensuring a speedy andefficient transaction.

In some embodiments, the continuous touch interaction may be defined by,on the surface of the touchscreen, a first point at a first time, asecond point at a second time subsequent to the first time, where thefirst point and the second point define a first direction from the firstpoint to the second point, thereby defining a pull-down of a screen oruser interface component in the first direction (e.g., up, down, left,right, diagonally, etc.).

FIGS. 14A-14D show an exemplary consumer interface 1400 in which adownward pull-down action is used to purchase an item or a promotion foran item. The consumer interface 1400 displays a representation of anitem 1402 for purchase. The representation 1402 may be associated withinformation on the item, for example, a price, a discounted price, adiscount level, number of promotions associated with the item that wasalready purchased, whether the item has limited availability, highlightsor detailed information on the item, and the like. The consumerinterface 1400 may include an interaction region 1404 (indicating, forexample, “pull down to buy instantly”) at which a consumer may enterconsumer input in relation to item 1402. In some cases, the interactionregion 1404 may be configured as a purchase button. In other cases, theinteraction region 1404 may be provided in addition to a separatepurchase button 1405.

Upon detection of a particular consumer input (e.g., a downwardtouchscreen pull-down of the interaction region 1404) at the interactionregion 1404, exemplary embodiments may retrieve information stored forthe consumer (e.g., consumer identification information 1406, paymentinformation 1408, mailing address 1410, etc.), and automaticallygenerate an order for purchasing the item for the consumer. Exemplaryembodiments may then transmit order confirmation for display by theconsumer interface, confirming that an order has been placed for theitem for the consumer.

In one embodiment, the purchase command may be initiated only after thepull-down action has continuously moved over at least a thresholddistance over the touchscreen or the consumer interface (e.g., at leasthalfway down the touchscreen length) and/or for at least a thresholdtime period. In another embodiment, if the pull-down action wasinitiated but did not continuously move at least over the thresholddistance and/or for at least the threshold time period, then a purchaseconfirmation may be requested from the consumer before the purchasecommand is initiated. This ensures that the purchase command is notinitiated by accidental pull-down actions on the touchscreen.

In some embodiments, the speed of the touchscreen action may be detectedand used in determining whether the action should initiate the purchasecommand. The speed may be determined as the distance on the touchscreensurface or consumer interface covered by a continuous touchscreen actiondivided by the time period during which the action is performed. If thespeed is detected to satisfy (e.g., be above) a predetermined threshold,this may indicate that the pull-down action is accidental and notintended to initiate a purchase command. In this case, even if thethreshold distance has been covered by the pull-down action, thepurchase command may not be activated or purchase confirmation may berequested from the consumer before initiating the purchase command. Inanother example, if the speed is detected to satisfy (e.g., be above)the predetermined threshold, then the interaction region 1304 may beconfigured so that a greater distance must be covered by the pull-downaction before the purchase command is initiated. In this manner, thesensitivity of the pull-down action may be ratcheted down if the speedof the touchscreen action is too high, thereby preventing commands frombeing initiated accidentally.

FIG. 14B shows the consumer interface 1400 in which, during the downwardpull-down action, the interaction region 1404 may display furtherinstructions to the consumer on how to initiate the purchase command(e.g., “release to buy instantly”). In this case, the purchase commandmay be initiated after the pull-down action has covered the thresholddistance from approximately the top edge of the touchscreen toapproximately the midpoint of the touchscreen. The instructions shown inFIG. 14B may be displayed after the threshold distance has been coveredand the touchscreen pull-down action need only be released (i.e., theconsumer's finger needs to be raised from the surface of thetouchscreen) to initiate the purchase command.

In some embodiments, as the interaction region 1404 is pulled down, moreinformation regarding the upcoming purchase may be displayed in theinteraction region 1404 (e.g., consumer identification information 1406,payment information 1408, mailing address 1410, total price of the item1412 etc.).

In some embodiments, a progress indicator 1414 may be displayed on theinteraction region 1404 as the interaction region is pulled down toindicate how much farther along the touchscreen the interaction regionmust be continuously pulled down in order to initiate the purchasecommand, or for how much more time the region must be pulled down inorder to initiate the purchase command. In one example, the indicator1414 may be a radial indicator showing a degree of completion of therequired touchscreen action for initiating the purchase command.

In one embodiment, the speed at which the interaction region 1404 ispulled down (or expanded to occupy a larger area on the consumerinterface) may be varied during the pull-down process. The pull-down ofthe interaction region 1404 may proceed at the pace of the consumer'stouch or finger until a distance threshold is crossed, after which thepull-down may proceed at a slower pace than that of the consumer's touchor finger. For example, the distance threshold may be set to about 260dp (density independent pixel) from the origin of the consumer'sconsumer input (i.e., the consumer's initial touch) within theinteraction region 1404. Once the distance threshold is crossed by theconsumer input, the interaction region 1404 may be pulled down at anexemplary pace that is a fraction of the pace of the consumer's touch orfinger (e.g., 1/10^(th), 1/9^(th), ⅛^(th), 1/7^(th), ⅙^(th), ⅕^(th),¼^(th), ⅓^(rd), ½). By limiting the speed of the pull-down, embodimentsensure that the purchase command is initiated only deliberately by theconsumer and not by accidental inputs provided at the interaction region1404.

In one embodiment, once the distance threshold is crossed, the consumermay be allowed to initiate execution of the purchase command. In thiscase, the message or instruction to the consumer provided at theinteraction region 1404 may be changed from “Keep pulling to buyinstantly” to “Release to buy instantly” to indicate that the consumerinput may be completed to initiate the purchase command.

In another embodiment, the pull-down of the interaction region 1404 mayproceed at the pace of the consumer's touch or finger until a speedthreshold is crossed, after which the pull-down may proceed at a slowerpace than that of the consumer's touch or finger. For example, the speedthreshold may be set to about 7 dp (density independent pixel) detectedbetween two measurements of biometric input location of the consumer'stouch performed one immediately after the other within the interactionregion 1404. Once the speed threshold is crossed by the consumer input,the interaction region 1404 may be pulled down at an exemplary pace thatis a fraction of the pace of the consumer's touch or finger (e.g.,1/10^(th), 1/9^(th), ⅛^(th), 1/7^(th), ⅙^(th), ⅕^(th), ¼^(th), ⅓^(rd),½, ¾^(th), ⅘^(th)). By limiting the speed of the pull-down, embodimentsensure that the purchase command is initiated only deliberately by theconsumer and not by fast accidental inputs provided at the interactionregion 1404. The purchase command may be initiated only after theinteraction region 1404 is pulled down to a predetermined distance overthe touchscreen. Thus, limiting the speed of the pull-down ensures thatthe purchase command initiation takes a longer time and that thepurchase command is not initiated by fast accidental inputs.

FIG. 14C shows the exemplary consumer interface 1400 in which theindicator 1414 indicates that the purchase command has been initiated. Amessage such as “purchasing . . . ” may be displayed. The exemplaryinteraction of FIG. 14C may be displayed after the required touchscreenaction has been completed, e.g., after the pull-down is completed andthe consumer's finger removed from the touchscreen as instructed in FIG.14B.

FIG. 14D shows the exemplary consumer interface 1400 displaying an orderconfirmation after purchase of the item 1402. Certain exemplaryembodiments may not display an electronic shopping cart and may notassociate the item 1402 with an electronic shopping cart. Asillustrated, the purchase transaction may not involve a purchaseconfirmation interface that requires the consumer to confirm the detailsof the purchase. That is, the touchscreen pull-down consumer inputitself is sufficient to authenticate and initiate the purchase command,thereby ensuring a speedy and efficient transaction.

In one embodiment, the interaction region 1404 may be configured as adual-purpose interaction region or purchase button. Two or more types ofconsumer input may be provided at the interaction region 1404 toinitiate two or more modes of purchase. For example, a touchscreen pressaction may be performed at the interaction region 1304 to initiate apurchase command that may involve a purchase confirmation interface thatrequires the consumer to confirm the details of the purchase. On theother hand, a touchscreen pull-down action (e.g., the downward actionillustrated in FIGS. 14A-14C) may be performed at the interaction region1404 to initiate a purchase command that may not may involve a purchaseconfirmation interface that requires the consumer to confirm the detailsof the purchase. That is, the touchscreen pull-down consumer inputitself is sufficient to authenticate and initiate the purchase command,thereby ensuring a speedy and efficient transaction.

In some embodiments, the continuous touch interaction may be defined bya first point at a first time within the interaction region, a secondpoint a second time at a purchase drop region of the consumer interface,where the second time is subsequent to the first point; and adiscontinuation of the continuous touch interaction subsequent to thesecond time. For example, consumer interface may include a button and/oricon associated with the promotion at the first point and a second “buy”drop region at the second point, thereby defining a “drag and drop” ofthe button and/or icon within the drop region. In some embodiments, theconsumer interface may include a visual representation of the drag anddrop. For example, the button and/or icon may move with the touchinteraction location to the drop region while tracking the location ofthe touch impacts. In some embodiments, the continuous touch interactionmay be alternatively or additionally defined by the first point beingheld for at least a predefined amount of time prior to the first time.In general, one or more continuous compound consumer inputs (e.g., whichmay or may not be continuous compound consumer inputs) may be combinedwithin a single compound consumer input and associated with a discretecommand. For example, a continuous left swipe or slide may be combinedwith a subsequent continuous right swipe or slide as a single compoundconsumer input.

FIG. 10 shows an example consumer interface 1000 in accordance with someembodiments. Consumer interface 1000 may be configured to provide dragand drop consumer interactions and may include impression 1002 includingone or more promotions 1004 a,b,c. A promotion 1004 a may includepromotion icon 1008. Consumer interface 1000 may further include dropregion 1010. Here, touch interaction 1012 may define a selection of apromotion with a continuous touch interaction starting from point 1,within promotion icon 1004 a, to point 2 within drop region 1010, asindicated by the arrow.

FIG. 11 shows an example consumer interface 1100 illustrating a purchasesummary display 1102 indicating the initiation and/or completion of apurchase command. Consumer interface 1100 may be configured to receive areverse consumer input, such as touch interaction 1104 defined bystarting at point 3, to point 2, to point one in the direction oppositeof touch interaction 806 shown in FIG. 8 . Touch interaction 1104 may beassociated with the cancel purchase command while touch interaction 806may be associated with the purchase commands.

In some embodiments, a compound consumer input may not be continuous.For example, a compound consumer input may include a plurality (e.g., 2,3, etc.) of discontinuous consumer inputs at substantially a singlelocation on the surface of a touchscreen. The plurality of discontinuousconsumer inputs may be performed within a short duration of each other(e.g., less than a second), thereby defining a double tap, triple tap,etc.

In some embodiments, a compound consumer input may include a multi-touchcompound consumer input including two or more touch inputs that are eachcontinuous. For example, the consumer may perform a swipe, a slide,hold, drag and drop, etc., and/or combinations thereof, with two or moretouch inputs that are each continuous. In another example, a compoundconsumer input may be defined by a pinch with two or more touch inputs(e.g., applying two fingers to the touch screen and while maintainingcontact with the touchscreen, bringing the two fingers towards eachother) or an unpinch (e.g., applying two fingers to the touch screen andwhile maintaining contact with the touchscreen, bringing the two fingersaway from each other). Alternatively, one or more of the touch inputswithin a single multi-touch compound consumer input may not becontinuous. For example, a first touch consumer input may include apress and hold that is simultaneous with a second touch consumer input(e.g., continuous or otherwise).

In some embodiments, a compound consumer input may include and/or bedefined by one or more of: one or more characters, one or more words,one or more numbers, and/or one or more symbols. For example, the servermay be configured to recognize character(s), words(s), number(s), and/orsymbol(s) to determine an applicable command. In the example of apromotion purchase command, a compound consumer input may be defined bythe user writing the letter “B” or “b,” representing “buy,” as shown bycompound consumer input 1014 (i.e., where the user traced the letter “B”proximate the promotion 1004 b on the touchscreen) in consumer interface1000 of FIG. 10 . In another example, the consumer may be allowed topurchase a selected number of instances of the promotion by providing acompound consumer input defined by a number within the interactiveregion of the promotion. For example, a consumer who traced the number“3” to the touchscreen proximate to the promotion 1004 of FIG. 10 mayinitiate a promotion purchase command indicating that three promotionsbe purchased.

In some embodiments, a compound consumer input may be determined basedon a location of the consumer device. For example, the location may bedetermined using any suitable technique including a global positioningsystem (GPS), triangulation (e.g., cell tower triangulation), internetprotocol (IP) address, and/or proximity based direct wirelessconnections (e.g., with a wireless personal area network (PAN) such asBluetooth, IrDA, Wireless USB, Z-Wave, ZigBee, Body Area Network, etc.).The server may be configured to determine a location of the consumerdevice, determine a language associated with the location, and determinethe compound consumer input based at least in part on the language. Forexample, while “B” may be used as the compound consumer inputrepresenting “buy” in an English speaking location, “C” may be usedrepresenting “comprar” in a Spanish speaking location. In anotherexample, such as for a Chinese speaking location, the Chinese characterfor buy may be used. In some embodiments, a language based compoundconsumer input may be additionally or alternatively set by the consumervia the consumer device.

In some embodiments, the server and/or consumer device may be configuredto associate a first compound consumer input with a first command and asecond compound consumer input with a second command. As discussed ingreater detail below, the second command may be different from the firstcommand which may be a purchase command. Similarly, the second compoundconsumer input may be different from the first compound consumer inputassociated with the purchase command. In some embodiments, the secondcompound consumer input may include one or more of the consumer inputsentered on a touchscreen. In some embodiments, the first and secondcompound consumer inputs (and/or one or more additional compoundconsumer inputs) may collectively comprise a continuous compoundconsumer input. Each additional command may be associated with adifferent compound consumer input, and the functionality of the servermay be configured to process the additional commands accordingly.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a promotion removalcommand. Processing the second command may include removing thepromotion from the impression. Processing the second command may alsoinclude the server receiving an indication from the consumer deviceevidencing a lack of interest by the consumer in the promotionassociated with the second command. In some embodiments, a differentpromotion may be provided (e.g., by the server) to the impression withinthe consumer interface in connection with processing the promotionremoval command. In some embodiments, the second command may include apromotion request command. Processing the second command may includeproviding a second impression including a second promotion differentfrom the one or more promotions of the impression to the consumerinterface and/or providing the second promotion to the first impression.As such, a consumer may be allowed to indicate that a particularpromotion is not of interest and/or request another promotion.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a cancel purchasecommand. Processing the second command may include canceling and/orforegoing the transaction for the promotion (e.g., based on storedpayment data or otherwise). For example, the cancel purchase command maybe provided to the user interface subsequent to (e.g., within apredetermined period of time) the purchase command. In some embodiments,such as when the server is configured to a purchased summary and/or“thank you for the purchase” indicator, the cancel purchase command maybe initiated while these displays are shown on the consumer interface.In another example, the consumer may be allowed to view a listing ofpromotions, each including an interaction region capable of receivingthe compound consumer input associated with the cancel purchase command.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a promotion bookmarkcommand. Processing the second command may include associating thepromotion indicated by the second compound consumer input (e.g.,provided within the interaction associated with the promotion) with theconsumer without facilitating the transaction until a purchase commandhas been initiated. For example, the bookmarked promotion may beprovided within one or more subsequent impressions for futureconsideration by the consumer. In another example, the consumerinterface may be configured to provide a bookmarked promotion impressionincluding one or more (e.g., all) of the promotions that have beenbookmarked by the consumer.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a promotion detailscommand. Processing the second command may include providing promotiondata associated with the promotion to the consumer interface. Thepromotion data may include promotion parameters associated with thepromotion (e.g., accepted value, promotional value, items, redemptiontime, etc.). The promotion data may further include a more detaileddescription of the promotion, the terms of the promotion, the purchaseterms of the promotion, one or more images, texts, references (e.g.,hyperlinks), videos, audio, etc.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a quantity commanddefining a number of instances of the item or promotion selected forpurchase. For example, the second compound consumer input may beprovided in connection with, prior to, and/or subsequent to the compoundconsumer input associated with the purchase command. Processing thesecond command may include facilitating the transaction for one or moreinstances of the item or promotion based on the quantity command. Forexample, a compound consumer input of a consumer tracing the number “6”on a touchscreen may be associated with a quantity command defining sixinstances of the promotion for purchase. In another example, a drag anddrop compound consumer input may be used, such as by the consumerdragging a button and/or indicator of an item or promotion to a purchasedrop region associated with six instances of the item or promotion. Inyet another example, a voice compound input may be used such that theconsumer may say “six” in connection with providing a compound consumerinput on a touchscreen associated with the purchase command.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a parameterselection command. For example, a promotion may include user selectablepromotion parameters and/or predefined groups of promotion parameters(e.g., select a first promotion parameter group of a promotion includinga $5 accepted value and a $10 promotional value promotion and/or secondpromotion parameter group of the promotion including a $10 acceptedvalue and a $20 promotional value). Processing the second command mayinclude determining the selected one or more promotion parameters of thepromotion and providing the promotion including the selected one or morepromotion parameters to the consumer. Advantageously, two steptechniques for selecting a promotion and then selecting promotionparameters may be reduced to a single step and/or single compoundconsumer input. In some embodiments, the promotion parameter command mayinclude a multi-touch command. For example a first touch may select apromotion and a second touch, while the first touch is held, may be usedto select the one or more promotion parameters.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a relevanceindicator command. The relevance indicator command may indicate that aconsumer is interested in a provider associated with an item orpromotion, a category (e.g., type of product, service, and/orexperience) associated with the item or promotion, a price range and/orprovider quality associated with the item or promotion, one or moreparameters associated with the item or promotion, and/or among otherthings. Processing the second command may include: determining one ormore parameters of the item or promotion, associating or de-associatingthe one or more parameters with a consumer account as being relevant toa consumer, determining a second item or promotion different from theitem or promotion based on the one or more parameters, and displaying asecond representation of the second item on the consumer interface.

In some embodiments, the second command may include an irrelevanceindicator command. The irrelevance indicator command may indicate that aconsumer is not interested in a provider associated with a promotion, apromotion category (e.g., type of product, service, and/or experience)associated with the promotion, a price range and/or provider qualityassociated the promotion, one or more promotion parameters associatedwith the promotion, and/or among other things. Processing the secondcommand may include: determining one or more promotion parameters of thepromotion, associating the one or more promotion parameter with aconsumer account as being irrelevant to a consumer account and/ordisassociating the one or more promotion parameter with the consumeraccount, and/or determining a second promotion different from the one ormore promotions based on the one or more promotion parameters beingirrelevant to the consumer account. The server may be further configuredto generate and/or provide a subsequent impression including arelevance-based promotion in accordance with the relevance indicatorcommand and/or the irrelevance indicator command.

In some embodiments, the second command may include a share promotioncommand indicating an online social network account and/or consumerintent to share the promotion with a second consumer via any suitabletechnique and/or communication channel. Where the second commandindicates intent to share within an online social network, processingthe second command may include providing an impression of the promotionto at least one social network user associated with the online socialnetwork account of the consumer providing the associated compoundconsumer input. In some embodiments, different compound consumer inputsmay be associated with different social networks and/or communicationchannels. For example, a compound consumer input tracing the letter “F”on a touchscreen may be associated with a share promotion command toshare the promotion with a Facebook account, while a compound consumerinput tracing the letter “T” on a touchscreen may be associated with ashare promotion command to share the promotion using a text message.Similarly, a compound consumer input tracing the letter “E” may beassociated with a share promotion command to share the promotion usingan email.

In some embodiments, the second compound consumer input (e.g.,associated with a command other than the purchase command) and/or thefirst compound consumer input associated with the purchase command mayinclude an interaction or consumer input that does not involve atouchscreen. For example, a compound consumer input may include one ormore of: a voice interaction detected by a microphone, a visualinteraction detected by a camera, and/or a motion interaction (e.g.,tilting, shaking, rotating and/or otherwise moving the consumer device)detected by a motion sensor such as an accelerometer and/or gyroscope.In some embodiments, a compound consumer input may further include abiometric sensor, such as a fingerprint and/or retinal scan.

For example, a voice interaction may include the consumer saying “buy”to purchase a promotion displayed within the consumer interface. Avisual interaction may include one or more blinks, a smile (e.g., moodrecognition), and/or one or more nods to indicate a purchase command. Inanother example, a visual interaction may indicate a promotionirrelevance command such as via a visual interaction including a headshake, a frown, etc. A motion interaction may include, for example, ashake of the consumer device which may indicate a promotion requestcommand, a promotion irrelevance command, and a promotion relevancecommand, among other things.

In some embodiments, the second compound consumer input may include anintuitive correspondence with the compound consumer input associatedwith the purchase command. For example, where compound consumer inputassociated with the purchase command is defined by a swipe or slide in afirst direction and/or otherwise, the second compound consumer input mayinclude a second continuous touch interaction defined by: a first pointat a third time and a second point at a third time subsequent to thethird time, where the first point and the second point define a seconddirection from the first point to the second point different from thefirst direction. For example, swiping up, down, left, right, and/or invarious diagonal directions within an interaction region of a promotionmay each be associated with a different command associated with thepromotion. In some embodiments, swiping up may indicate a promotionrelevance command, swiping down may indicate a promotion irrelevancecommand, swiping left may indicate a promotion bookmark command, andswiping right may indicate a purchase command, e.g., promotion purchasecommand. In another example, swiping up may indicate an increasequantity command while swiping down may indicate a decrease quantitycommand.

As discussed above, in some embodiments, a single continuous touchinteraction may be associated with a plurality of commands. For example,the server and/or consumer device may be configured to associate a firstportion of the continuous touch interaction with the purchase commandand a second portion of the continuous touch interaction with a secondcommand. The second command, for example, may include a purchase commandassociated with a first line formed by a first point and a second pointof a checkmark. The promotion data may be displayed within the consumerinterface while the second point is held by the consumer. Uponinitiating the second line of the checkmark formed by the second pointand a third point, the purchase command may be initiated.

In some embodiments, a compound consumer input may include a reverseinput of another compound consumer input. A reverse consumer input, asused herein, may refer to a reverse touchscreen input, such as a reversecheckmark going from the third point, to the second point, to the firstpoint (e.g., from right to left rather than left to right). Variousintuitive commands may be associated with pairs of compound consumerinputs and its reverse compound consumer input. For example, where thepurchase command is a checkmark, the cancel purchase command may be areverse checkmark. Other input devices and associated input data mayalso include reverse consumer inputs or otherwise corresponding inputsassociated with opposite commands. In the example of a camera device,the compound consumer input for the purchase command may include one ormore head nods (e.g., moving up and down), while the reverse consumerinput or reverse compound consumer input may include a headshakes (e.g.,turning left and right). In another example of a motion sensor device, acompound consumer input may include an up and down shake of the consumerdevice and the associated reverse compound consumer input may include aside to side shaking of the consumer device. For example, shaking themobile device may be associated with a promotion relevance command, apromotion irrelevance command, or a promotion request command (e.g., bytriggering the use of a different relevance algorithm and/or differentpromotion parameters).

In some embodiments, three or more compound consumer inputs may be used.The three or more compound consumer inputs may be part of a continuoustouch interaction or otherwise. For example, a second compound consumerinput may be associated with a second command including a promotiondetails command and a third compound consumer input may be associatedwith a third command including a cancel purchase command. Returning tothe example of the checkmark, a first compound consumer input may beassociated with the promotion details command and may include the firstline of the checkmark defined by a first point and a second point, asecond compound consumer input may be associated with the second line ofthe checkmark defined by the second point and a third point, and a thirdcompound consumer input may be associated with the a reverse checkmarkdefined by a third point, a second point, a first point (e.g., defininga reverse direction from the first and second compound consumer inputs).In some embodiments, a continuous touch interaction may be defined by aplurality of points, each of which may be associated with a differentcommand.

In certain embodiments, a consumer may send one or more messages on asocial networking website to initiate execution of a purchase commandassociated with an item offered for sale by a commercial entity (e.g.,merchant) or associated with a promotion offered for sale by a promotionand marketing service. In one embodiment, a consumer may have an accountwith a website or a mobile application offered by the promotion andmarketing service. The consumer may also have an account with a socialnetwork website, e.g., the Twitter, Facebook, etc., social networkingsites. The consumer may log onto his promotion and marketing serviceaccount and connect to this social networking site account. In oneexample, the consumer may log onto his promotion and marketing serviceaccount using a compound consumer input, for example, by creating theletter “G” using a finger on a touchscreen. Similarly, the consumer mayconnect to his social networking site account using a compound consumerinput, for example, by creating the letter “T” to connect to his Twitteraccount. The identity of the consumer may be validated for authenticityusing any suitable technique, for example, password verification and/orbiometric verification (using techniques disclosed herein). Fraud checksmay be performed during this connection process.

In order to inform consumers of a promotion or item available forpurchase, the promotion and marketing service may send a message on asocial networking site, for example, by “tweeting” about the item orpromotion on the Twitter social networking site. The promotion andmarketing service may have its own account on the social networking sitefor this purpose. A consumer may resend or otherwise endorse the messagetransmitted by the promotion and marketing service. In one example, aconsumer may “retweet” the message with a favorable comment (e.g., “Whata deal!”). The consumer's “retweeting” of the message may be seen by thefollowers of the consumers on the social networking site.

The promotion and marketing service may monitor the consumer's “retweet”of the original message and, based on one or metrics, the promotion andmarketing service may automatically initiate a purchase command of theitem or promotion for the consumer. If the consumer's followers also“retweet” the message regarding the item or promotion, the promotion andmarketing service may perform one or more of the following actions:automatically initiate a purchase command for the followers,automatically create an account on the promotion and marketing servicefor the followers, automatically provide a discount or promotion to thefollowers, and the like.

Determination of Item Relevance Based on Compound Consumer Input

Exemplary embodiments enable the use of compound consumer inputs enteredby a consumer using a consumer interface in indicating whether an itemis of relevance to a consumer and in further enabling the determinationof a relevance score and/or an irrelevance score for the item. In oneembodiment, a compound consumer input may be predefined or may bedefined by a consumer as corresponding to a relevance command such thatreceipt of the compound consumer input causes the relevance to beexecuted. A consumer interface may be displayed on a computing deviceassociated with a consumer, including representations of one or moreitems and a region for accepting consumer input. Using the consumerinterface, a consumer may enter the compound consumer inputcorresponding to the relevance command which may automatically initiateexecution of the relevance command.

A relevance command may be a computer-executable command orfunctionality that assigns information or a score regarding therelevance of an item to a consumer. An exemplary relevance command, whenexecuted, may analyze the compound consumer input to detect informationprovided by the consumer regarding the selected item. In one example,the compound consumer input may constitute the consumer tracing anumerical (e.g., from 1 to 5) or alphabetical (e.g., from A to E)feedback or rating for the item that may be used to quantitativelyassess the relevance of the item to the consumer. In another example,the compound consumer input may constitute the consumer tracing acheckmark (indicating a favorable assessment) or a cross sign(indicating a non-favorable assessment).

Upon detecting information about the consumer's assessment of the itemor the relevance of the item to the consumer, the relevance command mayanalyze one or more characteristics of the item to determine other itemsthat may be of relevance to the consumer. These characteristics mayinclude, but are not limited to, a category of the item (e.g., shoes,clothing), a price range for the item, a location of sale of the item, asubject matter of the item (e.g., outdoors, high fashion), a merchantoffering the item, a brand of the item, a discount level of the item,and the like.

Based on the current compound consumer input entered by the consumerand, optionally, previous relevance assessments performed for theconsumer, the relevance command may generate a quantitative and/orqualitative indication or score for the relevance of the item to theconsumer. For example, the score assigned by the relevance command mayindicate a likelihood or a strength of the consumer's interest in itemshaving one or more characteristics in common with the item representedin the consumer interface. In one embodiment, the relevance command mayassign an overall relevance score to the item, indicating whether thatitem in particular or whether similar items in general are of relevanceto the consumer. In other embodiments, the relevance command may alsoassign characteristic-specific relevance scores indicating, for example,whether other items sharing a particular characteristic may be ofrelevance to the consumer.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a computer-executed method forenabling indication of a relevance of an item (e.g., a promotionprovided by a promotion and marketing service). In step 1502, a consumerinterface may be displayed on a visual display of a computing deviceassociated with a consumer. The consumer interface may renderrepresentations of one or more items (e.g., impressions of promotions).In step 1504, a compound consumer input may be received at the computingdevice with respect to at least one of the items.

In step 1506, it may be determined that the compound consumer inputcorresponds to a relevance command, and the display of the display onthe consumer interface may be adjusted based on the relevance command.Exemplary touchscreen consumer input may include, but is not limited to,selection of a “thumbs up” option to indicate higher relevance and a“thumbs down” option to indicate lower relevance, drawing of a questionmark to indicate that the consumer is unsure of the relevance or toindicate lower relevance, drawing of an “X” indicating that the consumeris not interested, input of a relevance score directly indicating therelevance, input of a feedback score indicating the consumer'sassessment of the item, and the like.

In step 1508, based on the relevance command, a relevance indication(e.g., a relevance score) may be determined for one or morecharacteristics of the at least one item.

In certain embodiments, the relevance indication may be used todetermine one or more additional items for display on the consumerinterface. For example, if an item in the “sports” category isdetermined to be of relevance to a consumer, then representations formore items in the “sports” category may be displayed to the consumer. Insome embodiments, the relevance indication may be processed by arelevance engine to determine one or more consumer profile data items toindicate characteristics of items of interest to the consumer. Forexample, if the consumer has frequently rated “hiking” equipment highly,then a consumer profile data item may be generated to indicate that theconsumer is “outdoorsy.” The relevance engine may determine or adjustcharacteristics of items offered to the consumer in the future based onthe profile data. Subsequently, in certain embodiments, the consumerinterface may be updated to display representations of one or moreadditional items that may be of interest to the consumer based on theanalysis performed by the relevance engine.

In certain exemplary embodiments, the consumer interface may beautomatically adjusted based on the relevance indication generated inorder to emphasize the display of more relevant information to theconsumer. In one example, upon determining that a first item is of highrelevance (e.g., having a relevance score above a predeterminedthreshold), the list of items may be adjusted or reordered to bring arepresentation of the first item to the top. In another example, upondetermining that a second item is of low relevance (e.g., having arelevance score below a predetermined threshold), the list of items maybe adjusted or reordered to bring a representation of the second item toa suitable lower level or to remove it entirely from the consumerinterface. In another example, the representations of items may berandomly reordered or reorganized. In one example, such a randomreorganization may be initiated by a compound consumer input thatincludes a shaking action of the computing device, as detected by anaccelerometer in the device.

In certain embodiments, a consumer input definition interface may bedisplayed on the consumer interface to allow the consumer to define aconsumer input that, when entered, will initiate the relevance command.The consumer input definition interface may include an indication of therelevance command. Input definition data may be received from theconsumer input definition interface to define a consumer interaction.The consumer input may be generated based on the input definition dataand associated with the relevance command. In some cases, the consumerinput may be the same consumer interaction defined by the inputdefinition data or an approximation thereof. The association between theconsumer input generated and the relevance command may be stored on anon-transitory storage device for the particular consumer.

In certain embodiments, a single compound consumer input may be definedand used to invoke both a relevance command and one or more additionalcommands. In this embodiment, a first portion of the compound consumerinput (e.g., a left-to-right swipe or slide) may invoke the relevancecommand, while a second portion of the compound consumer input (e.g., asubsequent continuous right-to-left swipe or slide) may invoke apurchase command. The two commands may be invoked concurrently orsequentially in order in which their corresponding consumer inputs areentered in the single compound consumer input.

Use of Biometric Information in Facilitating Transactions

Exemplary embodiments enable the use of biometric information infacilitating initiation of transactions based on consumer input. Incertain embodiments, a transaction may be facilitated with the use ofbiometric information obtained from a computing device of a consumer. Incertain exemplary embodiments, biometric information may be capturedfrom a consumer interface used by a consumer to enter a compoundconsumer input configured to initiate a command. For example, a consumermay provide a compound consumer input using a touchscreen to indicate acommand, while the same touchscreen interaction may be used to obtain afingerprint of the consumer. In other examples, different consumerinterface interactions may be used to indicate a command and to obtainbiometric information. For example, a photo of the consumer may becaptured to obtain biometric information, while a touchscreeninteraction may indicate a command. Nonetheless, in some cases, thetouchscreen interaction of the consumer with the consumer interface mayautomatically trigger an audio-visual input device to be activated inthe computing device in order to capture biometric information. Theconcurrent use of the consumer interface in indicating a command and inproviding biometric information on the consumer, in certain embodiments,enables efficient and non-intrusive incorporation of the biometricinformation into the command execution process, while avoiding the needfor additional steps in which the biometric information is collected andanalyzed.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary computer-executedmethod for facilitating a transaction. In step 1602, computer-executableinstructions may be transmitted (e.g., by a promotion server) to cause arepresentation of an item (e.g., an impression of a promotion) to bedisplayed on a consumer interface rendered on a visual display of acomputing device associated with a consumer. In step 1604, an indicationof a compound consumer input may be received from the consumerinterface. The consumer input may be associated with the representationof the item, for example, as a selection of the item. In step 1606,biometric information may also be received from the computing device inassociation with the consumer or any other user of the computing device.In certain embodiments, upon receiving the consumer input, a sensor inthe computing device may be automatically activated to obtain thebiometric information from the consumer.

In step 1608, an identity of the consumer may be determinedautomatically based on the biometric information. In step 1610, based onthe determined identity, the consumer input received may be associatedwith a particular command that was predetermined to be associated withthe consumer input for that particular consumer. In step 1612,computer-executable instructions may be transmitted to facilitate atransaction associated with the command with respect to the item, e.g.,a purchase command associated with a promotion.

In one example, an indication of a second consumer input and secondbiometric information may be received from the same consumer interface.A second consumer identity may be automatically determined from thereceived second biometric information. Based on the second identity, thesecond consumer input may be associated with a second predeterminedcommand, and a second transaction associated with the second command maybe facilitated. For example, consumer input that enters the letter “b”may be associated with a purchase command for a first consumer but witha favorite command for a second consumer.

In another example, an indication of a second consumer input and secondbiometric information may be received from a second consumer interfacedisplayed on a second computing device.

The use of biometric information in method in FIG. 16 enables differentusers of a computing device to customize the meaning of their consumerinput and allow them to define shortcuts and keywords for initiatingcommands. Rather than requiring a computing device user to manually login or to indicate identification information, exemplary embodiments usebiometric information to automate the process and to allow efficient andspeedy initiation of transactions.

In certain exemplary embodiments, the biometric information may also beused to authenticate a consumer's identity, for example, that theinformation corresponds to a consumer predetermined to be associatedwith a computing device. If the biometric information does not relate tothe expected consumer, then a command entered by the consumer may not beallowed in certain examples.

In certain exemplary embodiments, based on the biometric informationidentifying the consumer, prior stored payment information may beretrieved for the consumer and used to facilitate the transaction.

Exemplary biometric information used in embodiments may include, but isnot limited to, image information, video information, sound information,voiceprint information, fingerprint information, eye identificationinformation, or physiological information associated with the consumer.

In certain embodiments, a consumer input definition interface may bedisplayed on the consumer interface to allow a consumer to define acompound consumer input that, when entered, will initiate a particularcommand. The consumer input definition interface may include anindication of the command. Input definition data may be received fromthe consumer input definition interface to define a consumerinteraction. The compound consumer input may be generated based on theinput definition data and associated with the command. In some cases,the compound consumer input may be the same consumer interaction definedby the input definition data or an approximation thereof. Theassociation between the compound consumer input generated and thecommand may be stored on a non-transitory storage device for theparticular consumer. In some embodiments, the association may be storedin association with biometric information on the consumer so thatdetection of the biometric information identifying the consumer may beused to interpret consumer input received from the consumer. Forexample, different consumers may define the same compound consumer inputto initiate execution of different commands. In this case, determinationof the identity of a consumer using the consumer's biometric information(as received from a consumer interface, in some cases) may enable anapplication program to initiate execution of an appropriate command thatis associated with a compound consumer input received from the consumer.

In certain embodiments, a second consumer input definition interface maybe displayed on a second consumer interface to allow a second consumerto define a second compound consumer input that, when entered, willinitiate a second command. The second consumer input definitioninterface may include an indication of the second command. Inputdefinition data may be received from the second consumer inputdefinition interface to define a consumer interaction. The secondcompound consumer input may be generated based on the input definitiondata and associated with the second command. In some cases, the secondcompound consumer input may be the same consumer interaction defined bythe input definition data or an approximation thereof. The associationbetween the second compound consumer input generated and the secondcommand may be stored on a non-transitory storage device for the secondconsumer. In some embodiments, the association may be stored inassociation with biometric information on the second consumer so thatdetection of the biometric information identifying the second consumermay be used to interpret consumer input received from the secondconsumer.

In describing exemplary embodiments, specific terminology is used forthe sake of clarity. For purposes of description, each specific term isintended to, at least, include all technical and functional equivalentsthat operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.Additionally, in some instances where a particular exemplary embodimentincludes a plurality of system elements or method steps, those elementsor steps may be replaced with a single element or step. Likewise, asingle element or step may be replaced with a plurality of elements orsteps that serve the same purpose. Further, where parameters for variousproperties are specified herein for exemplary embodiments, thoseparameters may be adjusted up or down by 1/20^(th), 1/10^(th), ⅕^(th),⅓^(rd), ½^(nd), and the like, or by rounded-off approximations thereof,unless otherwise specified. Moreover, while exemplary embodiments havebeen shown and described with references to particular embodimentsthereof, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that varioussubstitutions and alterations in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention. Further still, otheraspects, functions and advantages are also within the scope of theinvention.

Exemplary flowcharts are provided herein for illustrative purposes andare non-limiting examples of methods. One of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that exemplary methods may include more or fewer stepsthan those illustrated in the exemplary flowcharts, and that the stepsin the exemplary flowcharts may be performed in a different order thanshown.

Blocks of the block diagram and the flow chart illustrations supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that some or all of the blocks/steps of the circuitdiagram and process flowchart, and combinations of the blocks/steps inthe circuit diagram and process flowcharts, can be implemented byspecial purpose hardware-based computer systems that perform thespecified functions or steps, or combinations of special purposehardware and computer instructions. Exemplary systems may include moreor fewer modules than those illustrated in the exemplary block diagrams.

Many modifications, combinations and other embodiments of the inventionsset forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to whichthese embodiments of the invention pertain having the benefit of theteachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theinvention are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosedand that modifications, combinations and other embodiments are intendedto be included within the scope of the appended claims. Althoughspecific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic anddescriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1.-66. (canceled)
 67. A computer-executable method for defining acompound consumer input for initiating a command, the method comprising:causing a consumer input definition interface to be displayed on avisual display of a computing device associated with a consumer;receiving input definition data defining a consumer interaction by theconsumer; generating a compound consumer input based on the inputdefinition data; and storing an association between the compoundconsumer input and a command on a non-transitory storage device.
 68. Thecomputer-executable method of claim 67, wherein the consumer inputdefinition interface includes an indication of the command.
 69. Thecomputer-executable method of claim 67, wherein the consumer inputdefinition interface is displayed when the input definition data isreceived.
 70. The computer-executable method of claim 67, whereinsubsequent to generating the compound consumer input, the method furthercomprises associating the compound consumer input with the command andthe consumer.
 71. The computer-executable method of claim 67, furthercomprising receiving the compound consumer input from the consumer andautomatically initiating the command.
 72. The computer-executable methodof claim 71, wherein receiving the compound consumer input from theconsumer comprises receiving, from the computing device, an indicationof the consumer input entered by the consumer in association with arepresentation of an item.
 73. The computer-executable method of claim72, wherein automatically initiating the command comprises: retrievinginformation previously stored for the item based on a determination thatthe received consumer input corresponds to the command; and using theitem information to transmit computer-executable instructions toinitiate the command in relation to the item.
 74. Thecomputer-executable method of claim 67 further comprising: causing asecond consumer input definition interface to be displayed on a secondvisual display of a second computing device associated with a secondconsumer; receiving second input definition data defining a secondconsumer interaction by the second consumer; generating a secondcompound consumer input based on the second input definition data; andstoring an association between the second compound consumer input and asecond command on a non-transitory storage device.
 75. A computer systemcomprising at least one processor and a memory associated with the atleast one processor having computer coded instructions therein, whereinthe computer coded instructions are configured to, when executed by theat least one processor, cause the computer system to: cause a consumerinput definition interface to be displayed on a visual display of acomputing device associated with a consumer; receive input definitiondata defining a consumer interaction by the consumer; generate acompound consumer input based on the input definition data; and store anassociation between the compound consumer input and a command on anon-transitory storage device.
 76. The computer system of claim 75,wherein the consumer input definition interface includes an indicationof the command.
 77. The computer system of claim 75, wherein theconsumer input definition interface is displayed when the inputdefinition data is received.
 78. The computer system of claim 75,wherein the computer coded instructions are further configured to, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the computer system to:subsequent to generating the compound consumer input, associate thecompound consumer input with the command and the consumer.
 79. Thecomputer system of claim 75, wherein the computer coded instructions arefurther configured to, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the computer system to: receive the compound consumer input fromthe consumer and automatically initiate the command.
 80. The computersystem of claim 79, wherein receiving the compound consumer input fromthe consumer comprises receiving, from the computing device, anindication of the consumer input entered by the consumer in associationwith a representation of an item.
 81. The computer system of claim 80,wherein automatically initiating the command comprises: retrievinginformation previously stored for the item based on a determination thatthe received consumer input corresponds to the command; and using theitem information to transmit computer-executable instructions toinitiate the command in relation to the item.
 82. The computer system ofclaim 75, wherein the computer coded instructions are further configuredto, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computersystem to: cause a second consumer input definition interface to bedisplayed on a second visual display of a second computing deviceassociated with a second consumer; receive second input definition datadefining a second consumer interaction by the second consumer; generatea second compound consumer input based on the second input definitiondata; and store an association between the second compound consumerinput and a second command on a non-transitory storage device.
 83. Acomputer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readablemedium having computer program instructions stored therein, the computerprogram instructions, when executed by a processor, configured to: causea consumer input definition interface to be displayed on a visualdisplay of a computing device associated with a consumer; receive inputdefinition data defining a consumer interaction by the consumer;generate a compound consumer input based on the input definition data;and store an association between the compound consumer input and acommand on a non-transitory storage device.
 84. The computer programproduct of claim 83, wherein the computer program instructions, whenexecuted by the processor, are further configured to: receive thecompound consumer input from the consumer and automatically initiate thecommand.
 85. The computer program product of claim 84, wherein receivingthe compound consumer input from the consumer comprises receiving, fromthe computing device, an indication of the consumer input entered by theconsumer in association with a representation of an item.
 86. Thecomputer program product of claim 85, wherein automatically initiatingthe command comprises: retrieving information previously stored for theitem based on a determination that the received consumer inputcorresponds to the command; and using the item information to transmitcomputer-executable instructions to initiate the command in relation tothe item.